History

A Brief History of the Josephine County Fairgrounds

Fairs have long played an important role in Josephine County, showcasing agriculture, industry, mining, and Southern Oregon’s favorable climate. Early fairs featured livestock, horse racing, quilts, baked goods, and community celebrations that brought residents together.

1907–1912
Grants Pass hosted an Irrigation and Industrial Fair. In 1909, a Grange Fair was held in Williams and later moved into town in 1912.

1913–1915
The State of Oregon established governance for County Fair Boards, calling for one fair per county. The event was officially named the Josephine County Fair and was held at the Murphy Grange Hall.

1916–1926
The Fair moved closer to town and was held at the Ball Park (now Riverside Park), with interruptions during World War I.

1927
A permanent home was established on Redwood Highway, the Fairgrounds’ current location. Three permanent buildings were constructed, and the Fair has been held there continuously except during World War II (1942–1945), when the site was used for war efforts.

1934–1975
The Fair flourished with horse racing, concerts, 4-H and FFA programs, carnival rides, and classic fair traditions.

1976–Present
Horse racing began operating separately from the annual County Fair when the Southern Oregon Horse Racing Association (SOHRA) started holding races earlier in the year.

Early 1990s
Declines in federal timber revenues significantly reduced County funding, impacting Fairgrounds operations.

2006
County general fund support ended, and the Fairgrounds became self-funded.

2012
Facing serious financial challenges, the Fair Board and community worked together to preserve the Fairgrounds as discussions of sale circulated through County government. The community strongly opposed the sale and the Fair Board and volunteers energetically worked to create a strategic plan focused on year-round rentals, events, partnerships, and improved financial sustainability. Southern Oregon Horse Racing funded and took the lead on Horse Racing.

2020
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fairgrounds served the community by hosting childcare for essential workers, drive-through vaccination clinics, outdoor markets, and food trucks. While most of the Fair activities were canceled, the Youth Livestock Auction continued off-site, the goat show was held without audience and Fair Food Trucks served up delicious Fair Food.

2021
The Dutch Bros Soccer Complex opened, providing youth soccer fields and a stable, long-term revenue source through a lease agreement with the Fairgrounds.

2024
The sale of the Flying Lark building led to the creation of the Permanent Fair Fund, allowing interest earnings to be reinvested into the Fairgrounds for long-term sustainability.

The tradition continues with our five-day fair the first weekend in August with Fair entries from all over the county and adjoining counties as well. Some of the events and entries include Josephine County Youth & Ag, 4-H, FFA, preserved foods, baked goods, quilting, photography, arts & crafts, flowers, agriculture and horticulture, granges, carnival rides, and many other grounds acts, music entertainment, rodeos, motorsports, vendors from all over and of course some the best Fair Food in the state! See you at the Fair!

HISTORY OF JOSEPHINE COUNTY

JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON

1916-2016

Josephine County is located in southwestern Oregon and was once part of Jackson County, to the east. It was created on January 22, 1856. It was the nineteenth, and last, county created before statehood. Josephine County was named for Josephine Rollins, the first white woman to settle in southern Oregon.

The county is bordered on the south by the State of California, on the north by Douglas County, on the west by Curry County, and on the east by Jackson County. Josephine County is predominantly mountainous, but has two major valleys cut by the popular Rogue and Illinois Rivers.

Sailor Diggings was named the first county seat of Josephine County in 1856. Sailor Diggings was later renamed Waldo. Over the next year the population center shifted north to the Illinois Valley and to Kerbyville, a small town which had been founded earlier that year by James Kerby. Kerbyville was chosen by the electorate as the new county seat in 1857. In 1858 the Territorial Legislature changed its name to Napoleon, but Kerbyville, and later, Kerby, remained the favored usage in the county. In 1886, the county seat was relocated to its current location, Grants Pass, a new town built along the recently completed railroad which traversed the state.

Most of the commercial activity during the territorial period centered on gold mining and the supply of provisions to miners. Miners had been active in the Rogue and Illinois Valleys since 1851. By the late 1850s, however, gold mining was beginning to decline and the population dwindled as well.

Population in Josephine County has steadily increased except in the 1910s when there was a 20% decrease. In 2015 the population was 84,745. The principal industries are lumber, tourism, and agriculture.

WHAT'S UP WITH THE CAVEMEN?

The Oregon Caves Cavemen began in 1922 when a group of businessmen in Grants Pass, Oregon came up with a novel way of promoting tourism in Josephine County. They did this by dressing up as cavemen, pretending to be descendants of the Neanderthals. (The Neanderthals became extinct in Europe thousands of years ago and had no descendants). With their unusual attire, and zany antics they promoted Oregon Caves and Josephine County by bringing thousands of additional tourist to visit Oregon Caves.

Grants Pass, the Josephine County seat, is guarded by a towering 18-foot tall caveman, complete with a club. The fiberglass statue was erected by the city's ‘Caveman Club’ in 1971.

While the Grants Pass High School sports teams continue to compete as Cavemen and Lady Cavers, the city prefers other forms of promotion. More popular now is the slogan ‘Where the Rogue River Runs’, a reference to the local wild and scenic river with white-water, fishing, and jet boat recreational opportunities.

Compiled by the Josephine County Community Development Department

• Josephine was a County before Oregon was a State? Josephine County was formed by the Territorial Legislature in 1856. Oregon was not admitted to the Union until 3 years later.
• Waldo was the first County seat. The County seat then moved to Kerbyville, (now Kerby). Grants Pass was named the County seat in 1886.
• Hayes Hill was named after the William B. Hay Ranch near Anderson Creek and Clear Creek Valley, and is about 18 miles south of Grants Pass. The term Hayes Hill is believed to be derived from common usages, as in ‘that hill just before you get to Hay’s place’. Eventually, the spelling evolved into ‘Hayes Hill’.
• Galice is a small town was originally called Galiceburg. It’s also the name of a local creek. Both were named for French miner, Louis Galice, one of the first prospectors on the stream.
• Williams is another small town, originally called Williamsburg, and was named after the creek, which was named after Captain Robert Williams of the Oregon Volunteers, a militia group that fought in the Indian Wars.
• The largest gold nugget ever found in Oregon was discovered on the East Fork of Althouse Creek in the Illinois Valley in 1859. Its discover, a small Irish miner by the name of Mattie Collins found the whopper in the face of the stream bank under a large stump located about twelve feet above the normal waterline. Dubbed the “Collins Nugget”, it weighed in at a whopping seventeen pounds!
• The famous Grants Pass Caveman Statue was erected in 1971 during the Boatnik celebration Memorial Day Weekend by the Grants Pass Cavemen in 1971. The 18-foot fiberglass sculpture cost approximately $10,000.