Pittsfield, Mass.’s loss was Otsego County’s gain when it came to Elkanah Watson’s arrival in the early 1800s. Watson can be largely credited with the organization of the Otsego County Fair, the first of its kind in New York, which dates back to 1817.

According to "The History of Otsego County," the earliest agricultural exhibition within the present limits of New York was a cattle fair held in New Amsterdam, later known as New York City, on Oct. 15, 1641. The interest generated by the people in that exhibition stimulated the formation of other local agricultural societies. Once a county was organized, it wasn’t long before a local society formed within its boundaries, but no one had attempted to form a countywide society.

For Otsego County, it took a while, as it was formed from other larger counties in 1791. In fact, it took even longer, as on Jan. 1, 1817, a meeting was held at the house of Col. Henry in Cooperstown for the purpose of considering the feasibility of organizing a county agricultural society. James Fenimore Cooper was on that organizing committee.

The first exhibition was held in the Presbyterian Church in Cooperstown on Oct. 14, 1817.

A view of the Otsego County fairgrounds when they were located in Cooperstown. Otsego County can boast of being the first to have a county agricultural society with an exhibition that dates back to 1817.

Elkanah Watson was a native of Plymouth, Mass. He had organized the Pittsfield Fair in the western part of that state. Apparently he was discouraged with the lack of cooperation he received there, and he moved to Albany around 1817. Somehow he connected with two Otsego County residents who were planning the exhibition, so Watson moved to Cooperstown to assist. He later moved on to help other counties get their fairs started.

The Otsego County Agricultural Society prospered for a few years but eventually the organization was abandoned. However, a state legislative act was passed in 1841 that distributed $8,000 among the counties across New York for the promotion of agriculture. This served to reorganize Otsego and many other county societies which had become extinct.

A meeting was held Aug. 14 of that year at the home of William Lewis in Cooperstown, where the society was reorganized. The annual county exhibition resumed and was held in Cooperstown until 1852. That year, a proposition was adopted to merge the agricultural society in Morris and adjoining towns with the county society. The fair was held in Morris that year.

Whether it was held in Cooperstown or Morris, the fair was popular. In 1855, it was growing apparent that the fairgrounds needed to be enlarged and the society once again reorganized.

It was decided to select a permanent location for the fair. At a meeting in Cooperstown on Jan. 8, 1856, proposals were received from the towns of Hartwick, Morris, Otsego and Springfield. A committee met again Jan. 22. By a majority of one, Cooperstown got the votes for the fairgrounds.

The society rented 10 acres of land from W.H. Averill in an area near the end of Fair and Pioneer Streets, near today’s M.I. Bassett Hospital. The grounds were established with buildings and a track at a cost of $2,000 paid for by subscriptions from people of Cooperstown and vicinity.

The October 1856 fair was so successful, additional land was purchased.

The lease was due to expire on the land in 1872, so by 1870, the society began looking at other sites. There was no possibility of enlargement, and the fair continued to draw large crowds.

The society purchased 27 acres on the southern limits of the village, not far from today’s Cooperstown Central School.

For many years, the fair was a financial success. However in the late 1920s and early ’30s, income fell way behind expenses. The property was sold in a foreclosure sale.

The last fair held in Cooperstown was from Sept. 7-10, 1931. There were briefly no exhibitions until Morris became the new permanent home of the Otsego County Fair.

Elkanah Watson died and was buried in Port Henry. The tombstone is inscribed "Father of the county fair."

On Monday: An Oneonta couple brought us a science museum and meals on wheels.

City Historian Mark Simonson’s column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression.

If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com.