Transcription contributed by Arne H Trelvik 9 May 2003

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Previous to the organization of the Warren County Agricultural Society, in 1849, several exhibitions of agricultural and mechanical products were held at Lebanon. One of these, which was announced as the first Warren County Fair, was held November 15, 1839, in Osborn’s Grove, east of the town; others were held at the foot of Broadway. These exhibitions were not large, but they did something to awaken the spirit of improvement.

The Warren County Agricultural Society was organized at a meeting held in the old Town Hall at Lebanon, December 1, 1849, the call for which had been published in the Western Star and the Buckeye Mercury. About seventy persons paid $1 each to constitute themselves members. A constitution was adopted and the following persons were elected as officers: President, Ezra Carpenter; Vice President, Isaac Evans; Treasurer, William Eulass; Secretary, William R. Collett; Managers, Jacob Egbert, James M. Roosa, Edward Noble, George Kesling and William B. Strout. A committee of four persons in each township was appointed to solicit members, and John A. Dodds was appointed delegate to the State Board of Agriculture.

The first annual fair of the society was held on the farm of John Osborn, one-half mile east of Lebanon, on September 26 and 27, 1850, and was deemed a respectable exhibition. The total receipts of the society reported after the close of this fair were $354.50, of which sum $214 had been received from membership fees, $25 were donated by the Shaker Society and $115,50 were received from the County Treasury. The second annual fair was held on the same grounds, September 9 and 10, 1851. In 1852, the society leased ten acres of ground from Robert G. Corwin, Esq., for fair purposes, and built a tight board-fence, eight feet high, around five acres of the same, and erected within the inclosure a frame building, eighty feet by twenty-four feet. The first fair on these grounds, which constitute a part of the present fair grounds, was held on September 22 and 23, 1852, and was more largely attended than either preceding exhibition. An admission fee of 15 cents was charged for all persons not members of the society. The price of single admission tickets was afterward raised to 25 cents, and later, to 50 cents.

Addresses were delivered at the fairs in 1851 by Robert G. Corwin, Esq.; in 1852, by Judge John Probasco; in 1854, by Dr. John Locke, then a resident of Lebanon, and, in 1855, by John M. Millikin, Esq. The annual addresses were afterward discontinued. In 1858, the society reported a membership of 1,300, twenty-two acres of ground, leased for seven years, with improvements thereon worth about $2,000. At the fair of 1857, $800 were awarded in premiums, the largest of which was $30 for the best-conducted experiment on on-eighth of an acre of Chinese sugar-cane, with the product in sugar or molasses. A premium of $25 was awarded to R. C. Fuller, of Franklin for the best “Essay on the mode of cultivating and managing farms in this vicinity so as to produce the largest profits on investments in land.” On May 13 and 14, 1856, a horse fair was held, at which were 175 entries

The society now owns the fee of thirty acres, and has erected many structures thereon. Fairs have been held every year since the organization of the society, excepting two years while the civil war was in progress. Public interest in the annual fairs has constantly increased. The total receipts of the fair of 1850 were $354; of 1855, $544; of 1870, $3,000, and of 1880, $5,000. For several years past, from $2,500 to $3,000 have been paid annually in premiums, more than one-third of which has been for fast horses. The following figures are taken from the Secretary’s report of the fair of 1881:

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The Warren County Horticultural Society

The Warren County Horticultural Society.—This society was organized at a meeting in the Mechanics' Institute Hall at Lebanon March 30, 1867. The following are the names of the first officers: President, Dr. James Scott; Vice Presidents, William Ritchey and James B. Graham; Secretary, George W. Frost; Treasurer, Charles A. Smith; Executive Committee, Samuel Irons, George Longstreth, Benjamin Dawson, Moses Harlan, John T. Mardis and Dr. James Clark. The society holds regular monthly meetings. During the first ten years of the history of the society, several exhibitions of fruits, flowers and garden products were given under its auspices. The exhibition of the society held at Lebanon in August, 1874, during the meeting at Lebanon of the State Horticultural Society, was one of more than usual interest, and was continued for two days. Since 1875, the society has co-operated with the County Agricultural Society in its annual fairs, and has given no annual horticultural exhibitions independent of the fairs. In 1877, the society ceased to hold its meetings in a public hall, and adopted the plan, which has been continued until the present time, of meeting at the residences of the different members, according to a schedule agreed upon before the beginning of each year. At each meeting, an essay is read and discussed; fruits, flowers and vegetables, in their season, exhibited; general questions relating to horticulture are discussed; a dinner is served, and considerable time given for social enjoyments. The meetings are both pleasant and profitable. The society has recently largely increased its membership, and it exerts a good influence in the improvement of the gardens, orchards and dooryards of the county.

The Presidents of the society: Dr. James Scott, 1867; Benjamin Dawson, 1868-70; Samuel Irons, 1871-78; S. S. Scoville, M. D., 1874; John T. Mardis, 1875-79; William T. Whitacre, 1880-81. Secretaries: George W. Frost, 1864-71; Marion D. Egbert, 1872-75; William H. Bean, 1876-82.