HISTORY

We celebrate 1831 as the founding date for the Port Hope & District Agricultural Society. Farmers in Hope Township were interested in forming an Agricultural Society and a meeting was held at Bletcher’s Inn, at what is now Dale Corners, in December of 1830. A constitution was drawn up and the Port Hope Agricultural Society became a reality in the spring of 1831. The Secretary was authorized to import purebred cattle in 1832. Durham and other breeds were introduced and sold at cost to the members. By 1834, the Society began to import good seed wheat.

Early fairs were similar to farmers’ markets where one could sell produce rather than just exhibit it. Such fairs often were spread over many days – the first day for exhibition of stock and giving of premiums, the second day included a sale of horses, the third day a sale of horned cattle and the fourth day a sale of domestic manufacturers. Shorter fairs were sometimes held in the spring, and in some years a local fair would be replaced with a larger regional event.