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Warren County Fairgrounds & Event Center

About

The Warren County Fairgrounds & Event Center

The Warren County Fairgrounds has a rich history of agricultural exhibitions and community events over 160 years. As we move forward with the redevelopment of the Grounds, we hope to preserve this heritage while building a dynamic future that will allow future generations to create and enjoy memories not only of the County Fair but of numerous special events and celebrations year-round.

Check back often as we unveil new events to our Grounds, explore exciting opportunities that welcome guests to Warren County, and feature partnerships that highlight the fascinating shops, farms, and events in the Lebanon community and throughout Warren County! 

Warren County Event Center

Our Mission

Provide unique space for the community to celebrate, educate, and come together.

Bring the Community Together

We strive to offer a 

unique, positive, and safe local environment for the community to come together.

Stay true to our
Ag Society Roots

Our Agricultural Society heritage grounds us in good citizenship, hard work, and the pursuit of generational education and development.

Deliver experiences through personalization

We value relationships, mutual partnerships, and personalization. We take a unique approach to each individual and their needs.

Warren County Agricultural Society

The Warren County Agricultural Society (WCAS) is led by a volunteer Board of Directors who are elected to a three-year term by the membership of the WCAS each year at the Warren County Fair.  The Board is responsible for presenting the Warren County Fair each year, for maintaining the harness horse boarding barns and the training track and overseeing the Grounds and facilities.

Dana Bullock

Dana Letner
President

Executive Committee

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Ben Combs

Vice President

Executive Committee

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Mike Monroe

Treasurer

Executive Committee

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Todd Carter

Director

Executive Committee

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Alan Suit

Secretary

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Chris Lutmer

Director

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Dee Woebkenberg

Director

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Jackie Sechrist

Director

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Casey Fodor

Director

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Melanie Heitzman

Office Mgr, Fair Secretary

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Kim Callahan

Event Coordinator

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TJ Davis

Director

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Rachel Kolb

Director

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Arla R. Tannehill

Director

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Hannah Wolfenbarger

Director

Executive Committee:

Dana Letner, Ben Combs, Mike Monroe, Todd Carter

WCAS Staff:

Gene Steiner: Executive Director

Melanie Heitzman: Office Manager

Kim Callahan: Venue Sales and Promotions Coordinator

Brad Measel: Maintenance Director

Ag Society

Warren County Agricultural Society Membership

We welcome all residents of Warren County to become members of the Warren County Agricultural Society (WCAS).

The cost of a membership is only $35. Memberships can be purchased for Warren County resident adults only at the Warren County Senior Fair Office to enjoy these privileges: 

  • Daily access to the Warren County Fair

  • Have a voice in the future of the Warren County Fair

  • Be more involved with Warren County's 4-H youth program, the Fair, and with the large network of supporters and sponsors of Fairgrounds events. 

History

The history of the Fairgrounds

Warren County Illustration

On December 1, 1849, Warren County residents met at the Opera House in Lebanon, Ohio, in response to a call published in local newspapers to form the Warren County Agricultural Society.

A constitution was adopted from this group of about seventy persons attending, and a slate of officers was elected. Isaac Evans, the first Vice President of the Society in 1840, took William Henry Harrison to what is now the Warren County Fairgrounds, where he made a campaign speech. The future President Wm. H. Harrison planned and arranged the first agricultural Fair with Issac Evans, which did not occur until ten years later. The first Fair held by the Society was in September of 1850 at Osborn Grove, at the end of East Main Street in Lebanon. The newspaper "deemed it a respectable exhibition." Receipts for the first Fair were $354.50 and were accounted for by $214.00 membership fees, $25.00 from Shaker Society, and $115.50 from the County Treasury. Membership dues in 1850 were $1.00 a year.

The second Fair was held on the same grounds, with the Fair moving the following year to the present location on North Broadway. That year, 1852, a board fence was erected around five acres. Within the wall, a 24' x 80'was built an exhibition hall. This was the expanse of those early years' fairs.

On January 15, 1902, the 4-H program was started by Albert B. Graham with boys and girls in Clark County near Springfield, Ohio. It was met with enthusiasm by the Warren County Agricultural Society, which built a Junior Fair program that developed into an added plus for the Society. The 4-H exhibits and livestock shows then joined flower shows, field crops, the garden produces, arts and crafts, midway games and sideshows, demolition derby, harness racing, high wire acts, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, church groups, floats, bands, farm equipment, and food of all kinds, to design the Warren County Fair we know today.

In 1947, a fire burnt down the original wooden grandstand, and today the Grounds features a glass-enclosed grandstand that seats 2,700 Fairgoers. This grandstand has seated visitors at the Lebanon Raceway and Fairgrounds since 1971.  

In December 2013, the Lebanon Raceway departed for a new venue at Miami Valley Gaming and Racino. This has brought exciting change to the Warren County Fairgrounds and challenges & opportunities for the Warren County Agricultural Society. The Fairgrounds continues to be home to the Warren County Fair and a home for a respected training track and boarding facility for harness horses. Today, the fairgrounds cover 97 acres with 26 barns, show arenas, and exhibit halls. The Fairgrounds is still managed by the Warren County Agricultural Society and hosts many exciting events year-round.

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