The 165th annual Montgomery County Fair began Monday for the final time on South Main Street in Dayton. Next year’s fair will be held at Arthur O. Fisher Park in Jefferson Township.
Montgomery County last year finalized a deal to sell the historic 38-acre fairgrounds site to the University of Dayton and Premier Health.
The $15 million sale included $2 million for preservation of the site’s historic roundhouse.
Thelma Denlinger, one of the volunteers for the fair's pie-baking contest, has been participating in the Montgomery County Fair since she was a child. She says she'll miss the fairgrounds.
"I've been in this building 30 years. There are a lot of memories. I've been in 4-H when I was a kid and my children were in, my husband and I were leaders. It's just been part of our life," she says.
Plans to relocate the Montgomery County Fair were in the works for several years.
Under the deal, UD and Premier each paid more than $5 million. The Dayton-Montgomery County Port Authority also contributed $2.5 million in state grants.
UD and Premier are expected to take possession of the fairgrounds property this fall.
To see a mock-up of plans for the new fairgrounds site, click here.
The 2017 fair runs from July 10 through July 15. A full schedule and more information are available online at montcofair.com.
