FAIR HISTORY
On February 19, 1948, the McPherson County Fair Association was formed, combining the Canton Frolic and the Fair Association. Sam Bolin, resident of Canton, was the first President of the McPherson County Fair Association and a former member of the Fair Association Executive Board. After meeting with the McPherson Chamber of Commerce and learning there was no interest in hosting a county fair in McPherson, a motion was made by the fair association to purchase land north of Canton for the McPherson County Fairgrounds.
During the early years of the fair, activities were held on Main Street in Canton, with the rodeo and some of the exhibits on the grounds north of town. As there were no permanent buildings on the fairgrounds at that time, most of the exhibits were housed in tents. In the 1950s, cattle sheds and two round top metal buildings were constructed on the grounds. During the 1960s and 1970s, two additional buildings and more cattle sheds were added. In 1990s two more buildings were added. Since then, a Concession/Restroom building and the Bradbury Show Arena, in honor of Diane Toews, were completed. These buildings still stand and make up the McPherson County Fairgrounds today.
In 1954, a buffalo sandwich feed was started at the fair. At first, the feed was free to the public. Then, the buffalo sandwich was provided free with a ticket to a main event at the fair. After two years, it was switched back to a free buffalo sandwich feed though, due to the cost of buffalo, the sandwich is now beef. The members of the Canton Volunteer Fire Department have always cooked the meat. Since 1957, the McPherson County Oil Producers and Beef Producers have supported the "buffalo" sandwich feed.
Through the years, the McPherson County Fair has offered more than just exhibits (both 4-H and open class) to browse. There have been free drawings and raffles for everything from TV’s, cars, freezers, beef, and saddles. Various activities and events at the fair have included: carnivals, concerts, parades, pulls (tractor, mini rods, ponies), midget racers, flea markets, commercial exhibits, dances, softball and mud volleyball games, horse shows, and buffalo chip throwing contests. However, the two biggest events at the fair are the rodeo and the demolition derby. The fair rodeo has been around since 1959 and through those years has included a fun variety of scrambles (calf, pig, chicken) for the kids and a wild cow ride and steer dressing contest for the adults. The first demolition derby was held during the fair in 1982. This event is held on the last Sunday of the fair and just like the rodeo always offers some wild excitement.
In 2003 a Rodeo Queen Contest was added, followed by a Rodeo Princess Contest in 2018.
Although there have been years when some specific exhibits or events were canceled, the McPherson County Fair has continued annually since 1948.
Every year, it is the people of McPherson County and the town of Canton with their hard work, long hours and dedication that keep the McPherson County Fair going. Now for 75 years. If you would like to play a role in this long-standing tradition, contact the McPherson County Fair Association. There is always something to do.
CANTON HISTORY
In the 1920s (100 years ago), when most of the country was suffering from the “Great Depression”, the McPherson County area experienced an economic boom from oil. Canton, Kansas shared in this boom.
Oil lease villages were common around the area in the 20’s, as “Black Gold” was discovered, and derricks were constructed to drill for oil. These derricks were constructed in one day during the oil boom days. Once pumping began, the oil fields produced 64,000 barrels of oil every 24 hours. Today this area of oil fields pump around 200 barrels a day. That oil field was called “The Ritz” after a gusher went over the top of a derrick whose owner at that time was Oren Ritz. The community of Canton and elsewhere was abuzz with the news of the “Black Gold” gushing from the ground. That was the beginning of the 50-year oil boom for Canton and Galva. The oil industry is still part of this area’s history. After the first well was drilled in 1929, people from all over the Midwest moved here. Nearly every family in Canton is somehow associated with the oil business.
Oil Producers Co., of Tulsa, Oklahoma, owner of that first well, hired Sunflower Well Service to correct a leak in the well in 1993. To complete the work, the derrick had to be removed. Because it was one of the last derricks used in the drilling of oil in the Canton area, Bud Davis, owner of Sunflower Well Service, contacted Terry Bandy, Te-Pe Oil and Gas Co. owner and Cheryl Everhart, former Cheryl’s Café owner, about securing the derrick for the Canton Tourism Committee.
Oil Producers Co offered to donate the derrick, but the cost of moving the derrick was up to the Canton Tourism Committee, an arm of the Canton Chamber of Commerce. Donations poured in and Bandy Trucking Supply and J & M Machine and Welding provided manpower and time to take the derrick down and transport it to its current location. In April of 1999, the last derrick still in existence in McPherson County was taken down and subsequently moved to the McPherson County Fairgrounds where, in the future, the Canton Tourism Committee hopes to build an oil museum about the area.
If you have ever been to the community of Canton and driven north toward the Maxwell Game Preserve, you have passed the McPherson County Fairgrounds where the oil derrick that was erected in the 1920’s to drill for “Black Gold” now stands. This was not the original location of the derrick as it was moved to the present location in April of 1994. There is a kiosk located at the base of the derrick on the fairgrounds which gives information about the derrick and other areas of interest.