In 1892, this site became the permanent home of the Wisconsin State Fair after its purchase earlier by the State Agricultural Society. Until then, the Fair had moved annually since the first one in Janesville in 1851.

Over the years, State Fair has not only showcased agriculture, but also military, recreational and cultural activities. The Park housed troops and equipment for the Spanish-American War and for World Wars I and II. It featured auto races since 1903, Green Bay Packer games from 1934 to 1951, and world class speed skating at its Olympic-sized rink since 1966. Cultural phenomena demonstrated at past Fairs included cooking with gas (1859), airplane flight (1910), and television (1932). The State Fair Park Board, created in 1971, became an independent state agency in 1990. State Fair Park attracts two million visitors to hundreds of events throughout the year, including the Fair, the state’s oldest event.

The Milwaukee County Historical Society’s recognition of the Wisconsin State Fair Park on its present site in West Allis is not limited to a building or any specific structure. The traditions and diversity of events that connect agriculture with industry at the State Fair are just two of the many reasons the fairgrounds have received historical recognition.

The first Wisconsin State Fair was held in Janesville in 1851. During the next 41 years, the Fair was also held in Watertown, Fond du Lac, Madison and Milwaukee. It wasn’t until 1892 that the Fair was finally held on today’s permanent site in West Allis, the former Stevens Farm.

All the wood-framed buildings built for the new 1892 facility were gone by 1910 and replaced by more durable structures of brick, steel and concrete. Today, only three of those buildings, built between 1908 and 1910 remain. One is the 1909 Dairy Cattle Barn that was renovated in 2000. That restoration, although bringing it up to today’s standards, retained the building’s original style. The other two remaining buildings are the Horticultural Building and the Dairy Building where the Fair’s famous cream puffs have been baked and sold since 1924. A new Exposition Hall opened in 2002, and a new Cattle Barn in 2003. They were designed to blend with and compliment the architecture of the 1909 Dairy Cattle Barn.

Some of the Fair’s past historical highlights include the 1859 visit by Abraham Lincoln when he was campaigning for the Presidency. He gave fairgoers his only speech on agriculture. The first airplane to appear in Wisconsin was a Wright Brothers plane piloted by Arch Hoxsey. He landed the plane and took off from the racetrack in front of the grandstand with the Wright Brothers in attendance.

In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the fairgrounds were renamed Camp Harvey and became the Wisconsin National Guard’s largest training center. President Hayes visited the Fair in 1878, President Taft in 1909, General Sherman in 1865 and 1866, and General Grant in 1866 and 1880. In 1919, on the fairgrounds, the Lawson Company built and produced the United States’ first passenger airplane.

The Green Bay Packers played part of their schedule in front of the grandstand from 1934 to 1951. It was there that they won the 7th NFL Championship against the New York Giants 27 – 0. Olympic Gold medal winners Dan Jansen, and Bonnie Blair trained and skated to victories at the fairground’s Pettit National Ice Center. Since 1903, national race drivers, including Barney Oldfield, Rex Mays, A. J. Foyt, Alan Kulwicki, the Unsers and Andrettis, have competed on the legendary Milwaukee Mile Oval, the oldest automobile racing facility in the world.