The East Texas Fair Association is founded
A 1995 Texas House resolution says that after Tyler hosted many fairs in the late 1800s and early 1900s sponsored by area growers and ranchers, citizens founded the East Texas Fair Association in 1912 and shortly thereafter financed facilities on a 75-acre tract of city parkland that became the permanent fairgrounds.
Note
The East Texas State Fair marked its 110th year in 2026, a count a 1912 founding with wartime gaps does not neatly match. The city’s 2000 documentation dates the first Tyler fair to 1875.
Sources
- Texas House of Representatives, H.R. No. 389, 74th Legislature (1995): honoring the East Texas State Faircapitol.texas.gov
a group of citizens founded the East Texas Fair Association in 1912 and, shortly thereafter, financed the construction of facilities on a 75-acre tract of city parkland
the city of Tyler hosted many fairs in the late 1800s and early 1900s
Checked October 15, 2026. How the cards are filed