Early origins of the Elbert County Fair can be traced back to October 2, 1891, when
Elizabeth hosted a one-day event billed as Vegetable Day. Despite a foot of snow falling
the night before, the event was deemed a success and showcased a large exhibit of locally
grown vegetables, a dairying section and a fine display of livestock. The following year the
event was extended to two days, this time being held in late September and renamed the
Elbert County Fair. Over the next twelve years the fair was sporadically held, but it wasn’t
until 1904 that it became an annual event in the town of Elbert. During the 1900s and into
the late 1910s, the fair was held at Elbert with most of the activities taking place east of
town along the flats adjacent to Kiowa Creek. Discounted train fares on the Colorado &
Southern Railroad brought folks from Denver and Colorado Springs out to Elbert County
for the day, where they could picnic, view locally grown agricultural exhibits, watch horse
racing or catch a baseball game played against rival towns, and more. In the 1920s the
county fair was moved to Matheson for a time, where the fairgrounds included a fine
racetrack and grandstands. Then in 1934 the Elbert County Fair was reorganized with an
emphasis on 4-H and moved to Kiowa, where it has been held ever since.
(History courtesy of the Elbert County Historical Society & Museum.)