A Brief History of the Acton Fall Fair

by John Brooks, Heritage Acton Archive Volunteer

Fall is in the air, with the Acton Fall Fair not too far behind! While this annual tradition has taken place in September in Prospect Park since 1913, the history of the fair actually dates back even further, to the Fall of 1846 as the Esquesing Fair, hosted by the newly formed Esquesing Agricultural Society. For those unaware, Halton Hills was known as Esquesing Township prior to the amalgamation of Acton and Georgetown, forming Halton Hills in 1974. The first Esquesing Fair was held in Stewarttown, which was the capital of Esquesing Township at the time. The event featured ploughing matches and the showing of cattle, vegetables, and crops. Two years later, the Esquesing Fair would be held in October of 1848 in Acton on Bower Avenue.

For a number of years, the fair would continue to alternate between Stewarttown and

Acton. In 1875, the grounds in Stewarttown were deemed to be inadequate, so the

Esquesing Fair was moved to Georgetown for that year. In 1890, the event was

expanded to two days during the weekday to accommodate more spectators. In 1912,

the Esquesing Agricultural Society would decide that Georgetown would become the

permanent home of the fair. Residents of Acton were dissatisfied with this decision, so

they raised funds to form their own Agricultural Society and hold the first Acton Fall Fair

in 1913 in Prospect Park on September 23rd and 24th of that year. As it was a success,

the newly formed Acton Fall Fair continued to evolve.

By the 1920s, more than vegetables and crops and livestock were being shown at the

two-day event with the addition of baby shows and beauty pageants. Midway rides

would eventually be added to the fair by the 1940s and be held on Friday and Saturday,

rather than on weekdays as in previous years. In 1958, the homecrafts committee was

formed to further promote handcrafted and produce entries. In 1967, Sunday was added

as a third day, to round out the weekend of Fall Fair fun. In the 1970s, the ever-popular

tractor pulls were added to the line-up of entertainment and continue to be a draw for

visitors to this day!

The 112th Acton Fall Fair will be held at Prospect Park on September 19th to the 21st.