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When Northwest College student (now grad) Isabel Taylor first began her spring internship at the Homesteader Museum, Director/Curator Brandi Wright already had her project picked out.
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When Northwest College student (now grad) Isabel Taylor first began her spring internship at the Homesteader Museum, Director/Curator Brandi Wright already had her project picked out.
Wright had already discovered by flipping through old fair premium books in the collection, and shared with Park County Fair and Events Manager Billy Wood, that this year’s fair was special, the 100th anniversary of the Park County Fairgrounds being officially dedicated for the purpose.
“It has been in Powell since 1926 on that same designated block, so that's what we're celebrating,” Wright said.
So, Taylor’s project was to dig through the archives — including a large amount of time at the Tribune — to find what she could about the history of the fair. Now, her project is on display in the special gallery at the Homesteader Museum, just in time for the Park County Fair.
“It was great to turn over the research to her because there's a lot of gaps in the history in trying to find a timeline, so she was amazing, diligent research,” Wright said of Taylor. “I mean, she was at the Powell Tribune researching old ads, just because there's so many gaps and lack of information, and then finding out that the years that there was no fair because of wars or that type of stuff, and developing timelines.”
Specifically, the fair was canceled for years during the Great Depression in the 1930s and again during World War II. It was also referred to as the Big Horn Basin Fair for a time.
Wright said the project also displays the changes that have occurred through the more than 100 years of the fair, and the 100 at the fairgrounds. Early on the fair was held later in the year and thus prominently featured bountiful harvests from the Powell valley.
Local community groups such as Willwood and Heart Mountain were also a big part of the event in an age when those groups were prominent, and carnival acts were also prevalent.
“It’s made some shifts over time,” she said.
What hasn’t shifted for the last 100 years is that the fair has been at the fairgrounds in Powell, and from the early days until now, a celebration of agriculture has been at the forefront.
It’s why Taylor chose to title the display: Prosperity of the Park County Fair.
“Because that's what it was hoping to bring was prosperity and showing off what agriculture could do,” Wright said.
