History of the Littleville Fair
Visiting the village of Littleville is like “going back in time”! The village has its own distinct charm and beauty. The one single event that seems to bring out this “old time feeling” surrounds the annual Littleville Fair. The very first Littleville Fair was September 30, 1921. Initially it was held at the Littleville Chapel. Newspaper reports hailed it as “a real community get-together”.

An exhibition would take place within the chapel involving a fine collection of vegetables, fruits, canned goods and a great variety of fancy knit, needle work and crochet work, all on display. On the chapel grounds, a decorated doll carriage contest was held as well as refreshment booths made available for attendees. On the road was a display of horses and cattle as well as a pen for poultry. The fair would grow each year involving additional events and various categories of judging.

The Littleville Fair made a move in 1926 to new fair grounds located on Kinnebrook Road in Dayville, a short distance north on East River Road. The move was needed based on running out of space on the chapel grounds surrounding the year-to-year expansion of the fair. With this move, the fair could now expand with added events to complement the display of cattle, hogs, poultry, as well as vegetables, garden crops, flowers, etc. Through the years, events such as potato picking contest, barnyard golf and treasure hunt for the children was added.

A popular addition in 1928 was the horse and oxen drawing contest. Various horse and oxen weight categories were judged as to the total weight pulled in each category. This particular event was one of the main attractions for fair attendees. In addition, the 1929 fair would have a ball game, sports for boysand girls, horseshoe pitching and good band music all day. Dinner was also served in the new community hall located at the fair site. All in all, over 1,000 people would attend the 1928 fair. In 1933, the fair would be conducted for two days for the first time based on its popularity and the large crowds it tended to attract.

As time went on, other local country fairs would surface. Cummington, Middlefield, Blandford and Montgomery would compete with Littleville for attendance and income derived from the events. These local fairs would start in late August and run thru the fall months. Montgomery was traditionally the first held fair in late August and the Littleville Fair would usually be held the first week of October; the last to be held among the local fairs. Around 2015, the Littleville Fair date was changed to the first weekend in August; now Littleville being the first event of the year for local fairs.

There was an underlining competitiveness between these local fairs. They were always striving to outdo each other. One annual “competitive event” was tug-of-war between representatives from each local town fair. These men and the tug-of-war event would rotate to each fair and a trophy would be awarded at the end of the season to the team with the most wins.

The Littleville Fair was very successful through the years, bringing out the best of this fine community and their wholesome way of life. It was well organized with enthusiastic committee members and a community who always looked forward every year to a bigger and better event. Many Littleville residents would enthusiastically volunteer their time to make this a great success!
~ Taken from The Sacrificial Land by Steven V. Cormier

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