The Fourth Annual Whitman County Fruit Fair
A look back at the 1890s agricultural exhibition in Colfax, where local growers competed for prestige and prizes.
The fourth annual fruit fair of Whitman County opened October 18. These fairs have proved themselves great successes in former years, but this year the management failed to offer any great inducements, therefore the showing was poor. On Thursday, Spokane day, the Chamber of Commerce of that city arrived on an excursion train. The pavilion featured a display of home productions by local housekeepers, including bread, butter, cheese, and jellies. One of the prettiest exhibits was a miniature farm house built by Mrs. Fuller of Colfax, with walls made of ears of corn and a roof thatched with wheat. The exhibit of apples was the most extensive, with fifty-four varieties represented. The vegetable exhibits were not very extensive, though George Larue displayed 136 different varieties of produce raised on his farm. The fair concluded with horse races, acrobatic performances, and a football game between Pullman College teams.
“One of the prettiest exhibits in the pavilion was a miniature farm house, built by Mrs. Fuller, of Colfax. Its walls were built of ears of corn, the roof was thatched with heads of wheat.”
Agricultural fairs remain a cornerstone of rural Washington identity, though the scale and focus have shifted from individual homestead displays to broader industrial exhibitions. The competitive spirit between Whitman County and Spokane, documented here, reflects the long-standing regional tension between the Palouse's agricultural heartland and the urban centers that market its goods.
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