(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
Alderson's Fair
In
1884
and
1885
Alderson
a
large
but
far
from
prosperous
Fair.
Greenbrier
County
records
disclose
a
few
meager
facts
and
the
Greenbrier
Independent
recounts
a
few
more.
The
Greenbrier
Valley
Industrial
Exposition
Association
was
know
simply
as
the
"Alderson
Fair."
The
records
show the Association bought 16 acres of land along the Greenbrier River where Camp Greenbrier is now located, in June 1884, from Rufus Alderson.
A
high
board
fence
was
built
around
the
tract.
(Rufus
Alderson
reserved
the
right
for
his
family
and
the
family
of
Thomas
H.
Alderson
to
walk
through
the
property
by
a
path
through
licked
gates.)
An
old
road
up
the
river
was
changed
from
going
through
the
fair
grounds
to
skirt
them
to
the
north.
The
President
of
the
Association
was
James
Mann
and
the
Directors
were
William
L.
McNeel,
Austin
Handley,
Samuel
G.
Briggs,
M.
P.
Farrier,
Caleb
E.
Johnson,
W.
W.
Pence,
John
W.
Johnson
John
G.
Crockett
and
Frank
Follansbee.
The
first
Fair
in
October,
1884,
lasted
a
week
and
there
were
scores
of
prizes
for
everything
from
cattle
to
wine,
horses
to
French
embroidery,
flour
to
apples.
Among
the
winners
were
Lewisburg
Independent
Band and Lewisburg Baseball Team both winning first prizes.
The
second
year,
and
the
last,
the
Fair
was
held
October
13
through
16,
1885.
That
year
a
race
track
had
been
built
and
there
were
trotting,
pacing
and running horse races.
Although
there
was
a
large
attendance
evidently
it
could
not
support
such
a
sizeable
venture
at
that
time.
The
Greenbrier
Valley
Industrial
Exposition
Association went out of business and the property was sold in November, 1885, to satisfy bonds of $1215.00.
The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV Used by permission - November 18, 2008
Main Index
In
the
area
now
occupied
by
Camp
Greenbrier
the
largest
fair
in
West
Virginia
was
held
from
1884
to
1890.
The
Greenbrier
Valley
Industrial
Exposition
was
widely
attended
affair
during
its
operation,
and
special
trains
were
operated
from
Charleston
and
Clifton
Forge
to
bring
in
revellers
on
the
fair
days.
Here
we
see
the
imposing
main
gate. Photo from W. Va. Collection , W. V. U. Library. (Click on photo for larger view)
The History of Alderson, West Virginia
From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On Alderson, West Virginia
Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell
