The Long Way
Latah County
An aerial photograph shows an outdoor fairgrounds with parked cars, RVs, and buildings.
Plate I. Aerial view of the Latah County Fair. From latahcountyfair.com
An outdoor grassy area with a bandstand and buildings in the background.
Plate II. Fairgrounds stage, Latah County Fair. From latahcountyfair.com
1914 goat cart, Latah County Fair.
Plate III. 1914 goat cart, Latah County Fair. Photograph by Steve Shook from Moscow, Idaho, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Latah County Fair

Moscow, Latah County, Idaho. Four-day, admission free event.

Details

Map. Moscow, Latah County, Idaho. Larger map
Where
1021 Harold Street, Moscow, ID 83843. Directions
When
The Latah County Fair is set to open Ten Days after Labor Day, and be a four day event. 2026 = September 17th to 20th 2027 = September 16th to 19th 2028 = September 14th to 17th 2029 = September 13th to 16th.
Getting there
Large RV's coming to stay at the RV Park, may find it easier to enter the grounds from our White Ave Entrance.
Fees
admission free.
Hours
Fair Hours: Thursday 1pm to 9:30pm, Friday 11am to 9:30pm, Saturday 11am to 9:30pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm.
Access
The office is located inside the Events Center Building.
Phone
(208) 883-5722
Website
latahcountyfair.com
Managed by
The Latah County Fair Board.
Established
1911.

A four-day, admission free event welcoming over 20,000 of our families, friends, neighbors and communities from across the Palouse with a carnival, food, fun, games, entertainment, animals, logging sports, educational activities and more. A very proud Latah County tradition since 1911.

Notable Events

  1. 1888The University of Idaho Special Collections repository holds the Latah County Agricultural Fair Association stock certificate. archiveswest.orbiscascade.org
  2. 1904Nathaniel Williamson sponsored the first Williamson's Great Fall Fair. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  3. 1910Nathaniel Williamson and other county business leaders sponsored the first Latah County Fair, with the Moscow Chamber of Commerce playing a leading organizational role. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  4. 1911The fair identified the old entrance as north of Sixth Street and west of the railroad tracks. instagram.com
  5. 1915The local newspaper called the opening day a record breaker and reported that two thousand children sang America. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  6. 1920Interest and sponsorship had declined, and local rancher J. F. Papineau expressed disappointment that no fair was held. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  7. 1935The Grange and Veterans of Foreign Wars sponsored a Fall Festival with more than 1,000 exhibits. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  8. 1937With the fall festival's popularity, plans were made to organize the first official Latah County Fair. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  9. 1938The first official fair was financed by advertising subscriptions in the premium book, about 150 head of livestock were shown, and a Board of Directors was organized. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  10. 1941Two additional buildings, each 40 by 80 feet, were erected. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  11. 1942No fairs were held because of the war. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  12. 1945The fair continued again after the wartime hiatus. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  13. 1955The property on which the fair buildings stood was purchased despite criticism that it was too far from town. objects.lib.uidaho.edu
  14. 1975The present 4-H building was built for club exhibits, and fair attendance reached 15,000. objects.lib.uidaho.edu

People

  • Homer Futter, former Extension Agent who served on the first board.
  • J. F. Papineau, local rancher who expressed disappointment when no fair was held (1920).
  • Mason A. Cornwall, provided leadership to incorporate the Latah County Agricultural Fair Association (1888).
  • N. Peterson, operated a fairgrounds booth showing anti-freezing and combination toilet-flushing tanks (1915).
  • Nathaniel Williamson, sponsored the first Williamson's Great Fall Fair (1904).

Sources

  1. latahcountyfair.com/p/fair
  2. latahcountyfair.com/p/fair/entertainment
  3. latahcountyfair.com/p/fair/fair-vendors
  4. latahcountyfair.com/p/about
  5. latahcountyfair.com/p/events-center
  6. latahcountyfair.com/p/contact
  7. instagram.com/latahfair
  8. latahcountyfair.com/p/fair
  9. lib.uidaho.edu/digital/ott/items/ott137.html
  10. objects.lib.uidaho.edu/latahlegacy/latahlegacy_v10-n3.pdf
  11. yahoo.com/entertainment/latah-county-ready-fair-131700666.html
  12. lib.uidaho.edu/digital/ott/items/ott508.html
  13. archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv440341