Indiana State Fair

Indiana State Fair
Entrance to the Midway at the Indiana State Fair
Genre	State fair
Frequency	Annual
Venue	Indiana State Fairgrounds
Location(s)	Indianapolis, Indiana
Years active	1852-present
Inaugurated	October 20–22, 1852
Most recent	August 7–23, 2015
Next event	August 5–21, 2016
Attendance	978,296 (2013)
Website
Official website

The Indiana State Fair is an annual fair held in Indianapolis, Indiana, usually in the month of August. The first fair was held in October 1852, on the grounds of what became known as Military Park. The first Indiana State Fair on its present site along East 38th Street was held in 1892. In 2013 the fair had the highest number of attendees at 978,296.

The state fair buildings and grounds are used for a variety of other shows when the fair is not being held. The largest building at the fairgrounds is the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The fairgrounds are at the northwest corner of 38th Street and Fall Creek Parkway.

In February 1851, at the urging of agricultural promoter Governor Wright, the Indiana General Assembly passed an act intended "to encourage agriculture" growth in the state, which also included the formation of a State Board of Agriculture. A primary goal of the Board was to organize an Indiana State Fair. On October 20–22, 1852, Indiana's first state fair was held on the grounds of what became known as Military Park, west of downtown Indianapolis. In 1860 a new location for the fairgrounds was established on approximately 38 acres (15 ha) along Alabama Street, north of the city. Indiana became the sixth state to begin holding an annual statewide agricultural fair.

During the American Civil War, the county fairgrounds was converted into Camp Morton, a prison camp for captured Confederate soldiers. During the war years no state fair was held, but it was resumed again in 1865 and held in Fort Wayne. The gates opened at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on East 38th Street for the first time on September 19, 1892. Since then, the fair has continually been held in Indianapolis.

The State Fair has been held in Indianapolis for the majority of its existence but other Indiana cities hosted the event during the mid-19th century:

On October 31, 1963 a propane tank exploded in the Indiana State Fair Coliseum, killing 54 at the scene; another 20 died due to their injuries, with a total of 74 people killed. Around another 400 were injured. It was the deadliest disaster in Indianapolis history.