On June 16, 1916, it was voted and approved to hold a fair in Durham.
On August 2, 1916, it was voted to form the Durham Fair Association with an annual membership fee of 50 cents and the following officers were elected: President, Harry Ryan; Vice-President, Walter Wilcox; Secretary, Frederick Page; and Treasurer, A. Ernest Otte.
At subsequent meetings, it was voted to make the general admission fee 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children ages 5 to 14 and to allow schoolchildren to exhibit in Town Hall free of charge. At the September 22, 1916 meeting, it was voted to have music at the fair with the cost not to exceed $50. A feature of the first fair and every fair through 1924 was a parade down Main Street, which began at Burckel’s Corner (intersection of Haddam Quarter Road and Main Street). The parade was discontinued after the 1924 fair because of traffic concerns. READ MORE