SOUTHEAST DISTRICT FAIR WILL RELOCATE (100 YEARS AGO)

The Missouri General Assembly created the Southeast District Agricultural Society in 1855. The society held the first District Fair in a woods east of Pacific Street and south of Good Hope. Federal troops took over the site during the Civil War and the fair buildings were razed. In 1870, the fair was revived on a tract south of Gordonville Road and west of Kingshighway, where it remained almost to the turn of the century. The fairgrounds were sold to the Blattner family in 1898 and the fair association went bankrupt. A new association was formed in 1900 and 40 acres of land belonging to Col. Robert Sturdivant were purchased. The land, now Capaha Park, served as the fairgrounds until the exposition was moved to Arena Park in 1940.

Excerpts from The Cape Girardeau Weekly Democrat

Saturday, Feb. 5, 1898; Page 1

The long looked for -- long prayed for -- long hoped for, is going to be. The Board of Directors of the Southeastern District Agricultural Society have at last mounted the rostrum and proclaimed to the stockholders and to the people that the Fairs of the Southeastern District Agricultural Society will hereafter be held on grounds more convenient to the people.

They held a meeting last Saturday, heard the report of a committee appointed to solicit subscriptions to defray the expenses of moving and to help purchase the new site. The committee's report was so encouraging that the Board appointed and authorized another committee to purchase the ground and also to ask for bids on the old grounds. The forty acres of ground owned by Col. (Robert) Sturdivant on the Jackson road (Broadway) southwest of the Normal (university) grounds have been agreed to as the site for the Fair grounds, and we are informed that a deal for the grounds will be closed with Col. Sturdivant this week.

This is a move that everybody will be glad to hear has actually been carried out to a finish. It has long been known that our Fair was too far away from the city -- too far out of the way -- too expensive to get to, to say nothing of the inconvenience to the people, both our home citizens and patrons from abroad. It was too far away from the city for the city to reap the benefits it should get from the holding of the annual Fairs.

County people who came to the Fair would spend the day on the grounds and then return home without coming to the city and strangers who attended the Fairs would camp on the grounds instead of putting up at our hotels -- not because they liked camping out, but because the grounds were too far from the city for them to do business with the Fair and board in the city.

Where the Fair is to be located now people can go and come at any time and be less than five minutes on the road. Our people can go to the Fair in the forenoon, come home for their dinners and return in the afternoon without missing any of the sights to be seen at the Fair, or every day while it is going on. The new location will be better for everybody and better for the Association.

Saturday, Feb. 19, 1898; Page 5

Tuesday: The old Fair grounds were sold today at public auction. Charley Blattner was the highest bidder and they were knocked off to him at $1,200.

Saturday, Feb. 26, 1898; Page 5

The committee for the Fair Association met Thursday afternoon to ascertain how much money in the way of subscriptions had been secured for moving the Fair. When the committee got together they found that they had struck a snag.

Some people had been circulating a rumor that Louis Houck wanted the Fair Association to purchase the Col. Sturdivant land to head off a possible chance of the Cotton Belt railroad getting a right of way through it to get into this city. This rumor, wild as it is, did its work. It caused many who had signed the subscription list to aid in raising the necessary money to move the Fair, to demand their names taken therefrom.

When the committee figured up they found the list about $530 short of what it was when they reported to the Board of Directors of the Association a few days ago.

The committee that has been working to get up the subscriptions was not surprised at this turn of affairs. There are some who are opposed to moving the Fair and they have been following up the committee and doing everything in their power to keep our citizens from aiding the movement.

When they discovered that the necessary funds were about to be raised for the purchase of the new grounds they started the report that the whole thing was a scheme of Louis Houck's to keep the Cotton Belt from building to this city, and as their tongues wagged the wagging alarmed a number of those who had subscribed and they ordered their names stricken from the list. Of course there was no truth in the report, but it did its work -- just what it was intended to do.

Saturday, July 27, 1898; Page 5

Tuesday: It is now a settled fact that we are to have a Fair in October and we predict that this year the Fair will be a big success.