• Home
• About Us
• History
• The 1960s – Heritage Fairs

The 1960s – Heritage Fairs

Beginning in 1965 the Iowa State Fair focused on Iowa's history, initiating a series of Heritage Fairs. As part of this series, a major addition to Heritage Village was made each year. The first of these Fairs was dedicated to Iowa's pre-19th century American Indian heritage. Two wick-i-ups, where Wood Indians lived, were constructed by George Youngbear and fellow Meskawki tribesmen. Later a wigwam, favored by the Plains Indians, was added.

During this period, a Native American totem pole became the first permanent addition to the grassy-park-like area now known as "Heritage Village." The totem pole, carved from a tree that was growing when Columbus discovered America, weighed about seven tons. The Thunderbird atop had a 20-ft. wingspan; its horns reached 60 feet above the walkway below. (The Totem Pole was removed in 2005.)

The addition of big-name Grandstand entertainment also marked the Heritage Fairs. In 1965 Iowa's own Andy Williams returned home to sing for appreciative crowds on five nights.

The "Explorer Heritage: 1800 to 1830" was celebrated in 1966. As a lasting reminder of the early explorers who discovered Iowa, "the beautiful land," a replica of one of the Fort Madison blockhouses, including a section of stockade, was constructed of oak from the Tama area and added to Heritage Village. Grandstand entertainment included Lawrence Welk, immensely popular at the time.

In 1967 the Fair honored the state's "Pioneer Heritage: 1830 to 1865." An exact replica of the first Iowa church ever built - in Dubuque in 1834 - was constructed from native Iowa oak.

The 1968 "Gay Nineties" Fair celebrated the years 1865 to 1900. As a permanent tribute to the one-room country schools that made Iowa a national leader in educating its children, North Lincoln Country School, then located southeast of Indianola, was donated to the Fair. Placed in Heritage Village, the school is furnished just as it was in the late 1800s, with a wood-burning stove, desks fastened to the floor, recitation bench and teacher's chair. Fair visitors attended classes and enjoyed special presentations geared to young folks.

Entertaining in the Grandstand in 1968 were country-western singer Eddie Arnold, John Davidson, George Kirby and the internationally famous pianist Liberace.

The "Roaring 20s: 1900 to 1930" were celebrated in 1969. The Fair relived the flapper era with Dixieland jazz bands and other appropriate exhibitions. Pioneer Hall's Iowa Museum of Agriculture was opened to the public, displaying a half-acre of Iowa artifacts.