Venue Information

Fairground in Kearney, Nebraska The first agriculture exhibit in Buffalo County was not held in a barn. Nor was it held in a Quonset. The very foundation of what we know today to be the Buffalo County Fair began in a Downtown Kearney furniture store in 1875. Five years later, the Buffalo County Agriculture Society was formed. In 1880 the 1st Annual Buffalo County Fair was held in Shelton, approximately twenty miles east and north of Kearney. Four years later, the Buffalo County Agriculture Society decided by a strong majority to move the fair to Kearney. The ground that the Buffalo County Fairgrounds is still on today is the same ground that was purchased back in 1884. The 4th Annual Buffalo County Fair held at its new site in Kearney had over 3,000 attendees. The Buffalo County Fair has only moved once for a few years since the 4th Annual Buffalo County Fair when a new site was purchased in the late 1880’s. However, in 1893, the Buffalo County Agriculture Society discontinued du ...