A salute to the state’s best

In October 1854, Iowans traveled by covered wagon, paying a quarter to get into an event in Fairfield. The event was housed on a six-acre fairgrounds tract featuring temporary sheds and pens for livestock, tents for exhibits and a circular 1,500-foot track.

In August 2024, 170 years later, more than a million Iowans flocked to this same event, now housed in Des Moines. With nearly 600 exhibitors and concessionaires, hundreds of displays and one of the world’s largest livestock shows, the Iowa State Fair is the single largest event in state.

Though the event touts itself as “one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country,” it plays host to visitors of all ages and backgrounds.

Creston’s Tessa Stoffer isn’t a part of the agriculture field, but that hasn’t stopped her from attending the state fair every year since birth.

“My sister’s grandma used to camp up there and bake a lot of the pies,” she said of her early memories. “We had some family drive the tractors in the parade.”

As she grew into an adult, Stoffer began attending with friends — concerts being the go-to attraction.

“My friend and I always did concerts,” she said. “I once met the drummer of ZZ Top, his daughter and her friend. They got on the double ferris wheel before us.”

It would be impossible for her to pick a favorite performance over the years — Stoffer’s seen Florida Georgia Line, REO Speedwagon, Journey, Kid Rock, Carrie Underwood, Def Leppard, Thomas Rhett, Boyz II Men and so many others.

Now that she’s a mom, Stoffer and her children have their own favorite pastimes.

“Stryder likes the fried ice cream,” she said of one of her sons. “Rhyatt has to go see the animals. He’s the animal lover so we always have to see the biggest animals; the biggest pig is his favorite. Mine’s the horses — we have to see the Clydesdales. And we always have to do the big slide.”

Some things have carried on from her childhood traditions. “I always remember going to see the butter cow; that was a huge thing,” she said. “My dad and I did spin art every year we were there.”

They still make time to see the butter cow every year, a tradition that started in 1911 when J.K. Daniels sculpted the fair’s first butter creation. More than 100 years later, the tradition has become a staple of the Iowa State Fair.

Just like her dad and the spin art, her kids take advantage of family-friendly activities at the fair. “We do the helping hands; that’s a big one,” Stoffer said. “That’s where they put on aprons, go pick the vegetables, plant the vegetables.”

Though the food is a major part of the fair now, Stoffer doesn’t remember that always being the case. “We always had corn dogs; that was the big thing,” she recalled. “I don’t remember a lot of the fried foods until later on, just more of the fair foods.”

Now she’s always looking for the famous foods “on a stick” like ribs and pork chops. The event boasts nearly 60 foods available “on a stick,” including mind-boggling options like BLTs, salads, smoothies and cheese cake. According to the ISF website, 70% of fairgoers come for the food.

There’s no doubt the fair is astronomically different now than its humble beginnings, but it comes with some downsides.

“You can barely walk through there anymore,” Stoffer said of the crowding. “The midway is so compacted; you can’t push a stroller.”

The first fair, a three-day event, hosted an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people. In 2024, a record 1,182,682 people visited the fair. The third day also broke the record for highest single-day fair attendance with 128,732 people coming through the gates.

History

After the second Iowa State Fair, Society President Thomas Clagett declared they should find a permanent location hosting the exhibition, but this wasn’t realized until 1879 when the fair was moved to Des Moines.

Prior to the move, the ISF was held in Fairfield, Muscatine, Oskaloosa, Iowa City, Dubuque, Burlington, Clinton, Keokuk and Cedar Rapids.

The 262.91 acres of land purchased from Calvin Thornton to house the state fair cost $175 per acre. A historian of the times wrote, “There is doubtless no more beautiful site for the fair in the U.S. Situated about two miles east of the state capitol, it rises from the plain in a beautiful and sightly eminence from which the country for miles to the west, northwest and southwest stretches out before the view.”

The Iowa State Fair has played a part in many aspects of U.S. history through the years. In 1861, the fair was affected by the Civil War, but they carried on, charging a quarter for adult admission and 10 cents for children.

In 1908, long before her ill-fated flight, Amelia Earhart visited the fair and saw her first airplane. She was reportedly not impressed with “the thing made of wood and wire.” The Wright Brothers flew four flights per day during the 1911 fair.

In 1917, the new sheep barn housed the largest sheep exposition at the time and was one of the fair’s top highlights.

The 1919 fair was the largest to date with the theme “Food Won the War.” There were so many fairgoers, 100 acres were turned into campgrounds. The campgrounds now are 160 acres, boasting 2,300 spaces.

In the 1920s, the fair began a 10-day run, attracting almost one-sixth of the entire state population. But in the 1930s, the Great Depression and subsequent droughts greatly affected the fair, reducing attendance and revenue.

After World War II ended, Iowa’s 1946 Centennial celebration provided an ideal theme for the renewal of the fair. For the first time, the fair passed the half-million mark despite adverse weather conditions.

In 1972, Sonny and Cher attracted the largest every grandstands crowd — 26,200 people in two shows — a record that stands to this day.

The iconic Sky Glider, a ride that allows people to ascend high above the fairgrounds, providing a panoramic view of the entire area, was first established in 1975. It gave 100,000 people the chance to view the fair from the air.

For the sesquicentennial fair in 2004, perfect weather helped drive a record 1,053,978 visitors. Yet less than 20 years later, the fair experienced its sixth ever cancelation in its 166-year history.

Due to concerns for the safety and health of fairgoers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa State Fair officials made the difficult decision to postpone the 2020 Iowa State Fair to 2021. This was the first time since World War II that the fair had been canceled.

In 2022, the Iowa State Fair crushed the Guinness World Record for largest corn hole tournament with 730 participants.

“Over the years the fair has never veered from its primary purposes: the celebration of excellence, the recognition of individual achievement and the enhancement of agriculture,” the ISF website states. “Whether it’s grandma’s pickles, dad’s farm gadget, the neighbor’s Cookout Contest entry or the sister’s photography, the emphasis continues to focus on recognition of the particular talent or skill that makes each person unique. The fair is the true, ever-changing reflection of what’s best about Iowa and her people.”