St. Joseph County Fair dedicates monument

A new monument has been unveiled at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds.
Located just north of the fair office, outside building 51, a monument dedicated last month commemorates 100 years of the St. Joseph County fair as a “Grange” fair.
Tom Smith, secretary and program director of St. Joseph/Cass/Kalamazoo Counties District Grange, explained that while the first St. Joseph County fair was held in 1850, it became affiliated with the local granges not until early in the 20th century.
On its front, the monument reads, “In the beginning, St. Joseph County had many different fairs. This monument is dedicated to Granges and Patrons of Husbandry and Matrons who have been involved in the St. Joseph County Grange Fair since 1915.”