Crow Wing County Fair was once held in Crosby

The first “Annual Fair” was held in Brainerd on Saturday, Oct. 5, 1872. Fairs in Crow Wing County were then held sporadically in Brainerd, Pequot Lakes and Crosby before being organized and permanently located in Brainerd in 1937. The 1899 fair was held at grounds owned by M. K. Swartz located just east of the 1900 block on East Oak Street, In 1938 the fair was held at the Brainerd Armory and beginning in 1939 at the Mill Avenue fairgrounds where it was held each year until moving to its present location at 2000 South 13th Street in 1962. The fair began as an agricultural event for purposes of providing a place for county residents to exhibit their products. Youth projects such as 4-H and FFA were able to enter and compete for prizes. While many aspects of the fair have charnged over the years, the main philosophy remains the same, to provide opportunity for our patronage to tourch base with the agricultural heritage of Crow Wing County. The Crow Wing County Fair is now among the largest fairs in Minnesota. The fair is an educational non-profit organization.