Tyler’s first fair, as the city’s survey dates it
The city’s 2000 National Register documentation says Tyler’s first fair was held in 1875 with a mile-long circular race track.
In 1876 the East Texas District Fair Association acquired a 75-acre site south of First Street.
Note
Sources disagree on when the fair began: 1875 in the city’s documentation, 1874 in the 2019 Rose Garden nomination, 1855 in a 1965 chapter by Morris Burton, and 1912, for the fair association, in a 1995 Texas House resolution. The East Texas State Fair counts its own years from a later start.
Sources
- National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form: Historic and Architectural Resources of Tyler, Texas (Diane E. Williams, 2000; THC Atlas)atlas.thc.texas.gov
The first fair was held in 1875 and featured a mile long, circular race track; it was not successful.
In 1876 a 75-acre site south of First Street between Broadway, Donnybrook and Troup Highway was acquired by the East Texas District Fair Association.
The first fair was held in 1875 and featured a mile long, circular race track
- National Register nomination: Tyler Municipal Rose Garden (NR 100003539, 2019; THC Atlas)atlas.thc.texas.gov
The East Texas Fair was a regional fair that started in 1874, but was held only irregularly through the 19th century.
- National Register nomination: Mayfair Building (NR 100010937, 2024; THC Atlas)atlas.thc.texas.gov
Also Burton, “Fair History Dates to 1855,”13.
- 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
Checked October 15, 2026. How the cards are filed