How did the Minnesota State Fair end up at its current location?
The Minnesota State Fair is 322 acres of food, fun and all things farming nestled in between Minneapolis and St. Paul in Falcon Heights.
It's a location that feels like a no-brainer today, but it wasn't so clear in the mid-1800s.
"The fairgrounds used to be in many different places," said Keri Huber, a fair archivist. "It started off in Minneapolis as a territorial fair in 1855-56."
Once officially a state fair in 1859, it bounced around the southeast portion of the state, with time spent time in Rochester, Red Wing, Winona, Owatonna, Fort Snelling and, of course, the Twin Cities. Touring, however, became a logistical challenge.
"Almost every year there would have to be new buildings created, new fences put up," Huber said.
So how did the fairgrounds end up in its current location?
"Henry S. Fairchild was part of the St. Paul chamber of commerce and suggested [the current location]," she said.
The parcel of land, west of Lake Como and near St. Anthony Park, was farmland owned by Ramsey County. It was a little more than 200 acres in size. The county would go on to donate the land to become the fair's permanent home. There were other locations being considered.
"Minnehaha Falls was one of the options as a permanent site, even Shakopee and Rochester suggested to have the fair as a permanent location. But being truly midway between St. Paul and Minneapolis was ideal," she said.
How have the grounds expanded since 1885?
"The biggest expansion was in 1907 when we had 40 acres that we purchased up north known as Machinery Hill," she said.
Decades later, more parking lots and administrative buildings were added in and around the main fairgrounds, pushing the fair's footprint past 300 acres.
Minnesota's state fairgrounds are larger than its neighbors' in Wisconsin by nearly 200 acres, South Dakota by 190 acres and North Dakota by 188 acres.
Iowa's fair, however, is much larger. Its fairgrounds reach 445 acres, but more than a third of the land is composed of campgrounds.
In the History and Heritage Center near West End Market, visitors will see a glimpse of the state fairgrounds from 1934, courtesy of a large map on the floor. The fair's two oldest buildings on the northeast end of the property — the Fine Arts Building and Progress Center — were both built in 1907.
"Originally the Fine Arts Center was dairy, and the Progress Center was poultry," she said.
Next oldest is the Grandstand, built in 1909, but it's clearly upgraded to accommodate 21st Century entertainment. Nods to the past can be found across the grounds, a historic site ready to write another chapter.
"It's just a really special last 12 days of summer," Huber said.