Four Town Fair, Longest Running Agricultural Fair in CT Begins Today

The longest running agricultural fair in Connecticut begins today at the Four Town Fairgrounds in Somers. With a history going back 173 years, the agricultural fair features all the favorites from food, games, rides, animals, and entertainment.

“Everything is a miracle,” said fair secretary Judy Mercier, “We have vendors with every kind of bad, meaning great, fair food. It's great G-rated fun.”

Based on previous years, the fair organizers expect some 70-75,000 people to attend the weekend festivities.

The fair is owned and operated by The Union Agricultural Society of Ellington, Enfield, East Windsor, and Somers, Inc., formed in 1838. Prior to 1960, when the Union purchased the current fairgrounds on Egypt Road in Somers, the fair used to alternate between sites in the various host towns. The tradition of the host town remains, and for 2011 it is Ellington, though every year the fair is conducted at the Somers location.

The rotating of towns, said Mercier, “was a lot of trouble, because everything was done by tents. On these grounds here, we have permanent buildings, the cows, the sheeps, and the goat buildings. There are permanent bathrooms which is an important feature, too.”

She stressed that the grounds are very flat and everything is handicap accessible.

The grounds suffered some losses from the heavy snowfall over the winter, as two of the roofs on the permanent buildings collapsed from the weight of the snow. Both the Commercial Craft Building and the Maintenance buildings were damaged. The buildings were repaired or reconstructed over the summer and are ready for the weekend.

Mercier explained the origin of the fair dating back to the nineteenth century. Before there were towns in the area, the organizing bodies were school districts. Representatives of the various districts would parade their oxen down the main street of Somers and comparing their qualities. And thus the fair grew from the oxen competition, which explains the oxen logo of the Four Town Fair.

Only during the World War Two years has the fair not been conducted.

“There were no men around,” said Mercier.

Other war years presented challenges for the agricultural fair.

“During the Civil War, the women kept the fair going by doing needlepoint and things like that,” said Janice Steinmetz, also serving as a secretary for the fair.

Thursday night will feature the 15th Annual Car Show at the event, beginning at 6 p.m. The rain date for the Car Show is Friday, also at 6 p.m.

Other highlights of the fair this year will include Lucky Bob, a children's entertainer, a horse show, live music on the Main Stage, various contests and tractor and animal pulls, and agriculture demonstrations.

The Union is an all volunteer non-profit organization, and they allow the Hartford Country 4-H Club to make use of the fairgrounds during the event.

The fair runs from Thursday, September 15 until Sunday, September 18.