Unlocking the Archive: The Ross County Fair in 1968

In the time leading up to this year's Ross County Fair, the Chillicothe Gazette will be periodically releasing old photos from past fairs.

This week for our archive photo we go back to the year 1968, which is some of the oldest photos we still have the negatives for in our archive.

In 1968, the Ross County Fair was in its 24th year.

According to an article in the Aug. 9, 1968, Gazette, fair officials were pleased with the turnout of the fair even though attendance on Thursday had continued to down from 1967 figures. J.K. Rudell, the fair board treasurer at the time, said the paid attendance for that Thursday was 4,600.

Attendance was down by approximately 350 people for the first three days of the fair compared to the previous year.

Weather had played a factor in the lower attendance as the Tuesday weather had been in the 90s and threatening clouds hung over the fairgrounds on Wednesday. A downpour had hit late Thursday evening that sent fairgoers scampering for cover. Still, an estimated 200 people watched the 118 animals sell at the hog auction that night.

That year to wind up the fair there was a junior fair board-sponsored teen dance at the junior fair building.

To see more than 60 photos from the 1968 fair or for local archive photos from previous weeks, go to www.ChillicotheGazette.com and search for the keyword: Archive. As usual, there are photos where we do not have the identifications of who is in the photo as some photos never appeared in print, so if you know who is in them contact us at the email below and let us know.

If you have suggestions of what you would like to see from our archive, let us know at tshipley@gannett.com