In the spring of 1883, as early as the ground was fit for ploughing, seven yoke of oxen and 13 teams, together with 37 men, were gathered together on the French Creek flats near the borough of Wattsburg. It was a ploughing bee, after the good old-fashioned manner of the times, when men banded together to do their work. Somebody cracked a long ox whip, a pair of red steers swayed in their bows, the plow-point nosed into the rich, soft soil of the creek bottom and the first physical step in the making of the Wattsburg Fair — the ploughing and grading of the race track had been undertaken.
It was a different looking country in those days, as described by a man who was present at the breaking of the ground, the virgin forest was still fairly plentiful, and the whole French Creek Valley was well timbered with tall trees. But Wattsburg was the center of a rich farming district, therefore a fine place for a fair. This had been decided upon the winter previous to the spring ploughing, when the Wattsburg Agricultural Society was formed.
About 50 acres of land was leased, at that time, from the George Howard farm. Some buildings were built and a race track laid out for the first Wattsburg Fair. William W. Harwood was elected the first secretary of the fair. The following year, in 1884, the Wattsburg Agricultural Society was granted a charter by the state of Pennsylvania.
The records show that a Harwood has been a member of the board of directors since the fair was started in 1883. The Wattsburg Fair was started by a lot of community and volunteer effort. That effort has continued down through the years. The Wattsburg Agricultural Society was chartered as a non-profit organization; all profits to be used for buildings and improvements, and the educational well-being of the society.
In 1931 the society purchased the fair grounds, which had been leased for the past 48 years, from different owners, who had owned the lease and farm. The first lease was with George Howard, second lease with Zack Brace, who lived on the farm a number of years, and the third lease with Tom Gilmore, who now in 1931 owned and was residing on the farm.
In 1938 additional building space was needed for the fair. Thirteen acres were purchased on the north end of the original track, this becoming the north boundary of the fair grounds. Several years later the Gilmores sold the rest of the farm to the Rotthoff family.
In 1946, 4 acres on the southeast corner of the fair grounds was purchased from the Rotthoff family so the fair would have access to French Creek.
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| Wattsburg Fair (1913) |
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| Wattsburg Fair (1915) |
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| Wattsburg Fair (1940s) |
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| Wattsburg Fair (1951) |
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| Wattsburg Fair |