Ticket to the Past: The Past 25 Years of the Missouri State Fair

• Ticket to the Past: The First 25 Years of the Missouri State Fair
• The Missouri State Fair Begins
• The Fair Grounds
• All Roads Lead to the Fair
• Fair Attractions in the Air
• Fair Attractions on the Stage
• Profitable Fun For All Who Come
• The Fair in Wartime
• Agriculture at the Fair
• Fair Attractions on the Track
• Missouri Centennial
• Silver Anniversary
• Curriculum

Fair Attractions in the Air

In addition to the all time favorite, horse racing; early Fair attractions brought Missourians a look at the latest daring endeavors. Hot-air balloon ascensions and zeppelins thrilled the crowds. In 1907 the Missouri State Fair featured daily airplane flights. It was only four short years after the Wright brothers' first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C.; a time when most Americans had never even seen an airplane. The evenings brought spectacular night flights that lit the skies and, in 1910, Orville and Wilbur Wright themselves provided the Fair's aeronautical thrills.