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On the Porch

The 116th Annual Lyon County Fair is happening now at the fairgrounds in Marshall! The Lyon County Fair has free admission and free parking. For more information on this year’s Lyon County Fair, look for their posters, program guides, or online at www.lyoncountyfairmn.com

The first fairs occurred in the late 1800s, but not as an annual event. Since 1903, the Lyon County Fair has been held annually, typically in the month of August. Events have varied over the years at the fairgrounds. One notable event at the fair happened in 1912, when L.W. Bonney gave an air show. This event gave many fairgoers their first glimpse of an airplane. Unfortunately, at one performance, Bonney crashed his plane into several parked cars. Bonney escaped with only cracked ribs, but his $1,000 aircraft was totaled.

When out at the fair this weekend, stop by LCHS’s building and say hi! LCHS’s building on the fairgrounds is open Saturday noon-8 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. On display this year in the building, we have a variety of promotional and premium items from Lyon County businesses. All the items were donated to the Lyon County Historical Society. There are also historic photographs of towns and buildings throughout Lyon County. The photographs are enlargements of photographs from the historical society’s collection.

This year’s fair display is a prelude to Lyon County’s 150th anniversary, which is next year in 2020. According to Arthur P. Rose’s 1912 book, An Illustrated History of Lyon County, Minnesota, “Governor Marshall appointed a few county officers and vested them with power to begin county government. It was proposed to organize in December 1869, but owing to the absence of two of the county commissioners it had to be postponed, and the machinery of county government was not set in motion until Aug. 12, 1870. At that time the first meeting of the Board of County Commissioners was held at the home of Luman Ticknor, in Upper Lynd.” Next year will include even more county history, stories, and artifacts on display to commemorate the anniversary.

The Lyon County Historical Society is a non-profit, member-supported organization. For more information on membership, research, volunteering, or the museum’s collection, please contact us at 537-6580 or director@lyoncomuseum.org. Like our page and follow us on Facebook.

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