Summary: The fairs weren’t always held at what is today the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Fair officials say the 1874 celebration coincided with the grand opening of the Ventura Trotting Park, a one-mile racetrack below the bluffs at Pierpont Bay, which is now the Ventura Keys. The next year, agricultural and livestock exhibits were added, and by 1877, the fair began showcasing needlework and other home arts too.
