It’s hard to imagine Norfolk County without its beloved Fair — the midway lights, the grandstands, the livestock barns, the crowds of friends and neighbours. But in the winter of 1930, the Fair very nearly disappeared forever.
A Crisis in the Hall
On a cold Saturday afternoon in late February, about fifty citizens crowded into the Simcoe Town Hall for a special meeting of the Norfolk Agricultural Society. The Society’s Board of Directors had come to a painful conclusion: years of financial struggle had left the Fair deep in debt, and they were ready to throw in the towel.
The Board had voted to liquidate — to sell the fairgrounds, pay off what they could, and walk away from what had been, for generations, a cornerstone of Norfolk County life.
The Members Revolt
But the rank-and-file members of the Society refused to accept that outcome. One after another, they stood to speak — farmers, merchants, and townsfolk — declaring that the Norfolk County Fair must be saved.
Mr. Perry Bowden led the charge. He put forward a motion asking the Board to hold off on liquidation and instead make every possible effort to refinance. The members overwhelmingly agreed.
If no solution could be found by May 1st, Bowden conceded, then — and only then — could the Fairgrounds be sold. But until that date, the directors were ordered to fight for the Fair’s survival.
A Plan to Save It
The meeting appointed a special committee to approach Norfolk County Council, hoping that the County might finally step in with assistance. The committee included Bowden, Lionel Culver, Monroe Sowden, Fred Cunningham, James Moore, Dr. A.C. Hart, and G.G. Bramhill.
Their task: convince the County to offer financial backing or at least a sympathetic ear. The motion passed almost unanimously, and the mood in the hall shifted — from despair to determination.
A Divided Room, a Shared Purpose
The debate that day was long and emotional. Some directors, exhausted by years of losses, wanted to wash their hands of the whole thing. Others argued that Norfolk’s Fair wasn’t just an event — it was a heritage, and it belonged to the people.
When the dust settled, the members’ will prevailed. The Fair would go on.
The Fair Lives On
History doesn’t record exactly how the debt was refinanced, but we know this: the Norfolk County Fair survived. Nearly a century later, it remains one of Ontario’s oldest and proudest county fairs — a living testament to the determination of those who refused to let it die.
In 1930, Norfolk almost lost its Fair.
Thanks to a handful of ordinary citizens with extraordinary resolve, we didn’t.
