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History of the Western Idaho Fair

The first fair began in 1897 with a couple cowboy contests and horse racing.

IDAHO, USA — Before the event of the summer in Idaho was in Garden City, it began in 1897 near the center of town.

The Idaho Agriculture Park, near 21st Street, Idaho Street and State Street, held the first Idaho Intermountain Fair in 1897. The intention was to bring travelers and people from far-away cities to Boise, where they would bring their livestock, crops, pies, quilts and other items.

Some activities even included cowboy contests and horse racing.

In 1902, the fair moved to the Boise Bench near the corner of Orchard Street and Fairview Avenue for more space and more people.

Along with a race track, there was carnival games and rides, including a Ferris wheel that was said to be the first-ever wheel west of the Mississippi. The Future Farmers of America (FFA) and Idaho's 4-H clubs even were apart of the fair in 1912 and 1917. 

Even Charles Lindbergh, the famous American aviator, fresh off his flight from across the Atlantic, landed in Boise in 1927.

In 1967, The Idaho Intermountain Fair became the Western Idaho Fair and moved its location to where it stays today, off of Glenwood Road in Garden City -- 240 acres of farm and fair fun.

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