Caswell County Fair

Caswell County Fair: 1918

"The Caswell County Fair will be held in Yanceyville, October 1, 2, and 3."

Source: Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, North Carolina), 29 September 1918, Sunday, Page 26.

Fair Worker Shot to Death: 1968

Yanceyville (UPI) -- A carnival worker was fatally injured after the closing early Friday of the Caswell County Fair and a co-worker was being held here for murder.

A spokesman at nearby Danville, Va., Memorial Hospital said Peyton Leon Rider, 46, of Muskogee, Okla., died about 1:50 a.m., Friday from multiple gunshot wounds. He said Rider was shot three times in the chest and once in the shoulder.

The sheriff's office here said another carnival worker, James Hance, 44, of Ravenelle, S.C., had been charged with murder, but deputies would not disclose the details of the shooting.

Source: Statesville Record and Landmark (Statesville, North Carolina), 16 September 1968, Monday, Page 4.

Calm Returns to Yanceyville: September 1970

Yanceyville, N.C.(AP) -- This small Caswell County town on the Virginia border has returned to clam following two days of racial disturbances in which a Negro woman was shot and a downtown building was damaged by fire.

The disturbances broke out Friday night at the Caswell County Fair when a Negro man attempted to watch a burlesque show with white women and a fight broke out between the patrons.

The fair was closed after a second fight and police were called to the scene.

A group of Negroes refused to leave the fair when police ordered them to do so and the group was pelted with "smoke bombs" by police.

Mrs. Laverne Johnson, 22, was shot but not seriously injured. Police said they don't know who fired the shot or where it came from. They said an investigation is continuing.

The town was placed under a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew Saturday by the Caswell County commissioners. One arrest was made for a curfew violation Saturday night following the fire in the downtown store.

Police said the building burned Saturday housed an insurance firm and the local Selective Service offices. The building was heavily damaged but papers in the Selective Service office were saved, they said.

Three other persons have been arrested since the trouble broke out. Two persons have been charged with carrying a concealed weapon and another was charged with disorderly conduct.

The commissioners have not said how long the curfew will be in effect.

Source: Rocky Mount Telegram (Rocky Mount, North Carolina), 21 September 1970, Monday, Page 2.
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Popcorn at the Caswell County Fair 1975

The Virginia Piedmont Chapter, American Business Women's Association, held its monthly dinner Tuesday evening at the Steak King. Volunteers were requested for manning the popcorn booth at the Caswell County Fair beginning the week of Sept. 15.

Source: The Danville Register (Danville, Virginia), 15 August 1975, Friday, Page 21.
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Caswell County Fair

When the first Caswell County Fair was held is not known. However, there was a fairgrounds on what today is Dillard School Drive in Yanceyville.

Here is a reference to a 1918 fair:

Caswell County Fair: 1918

"The Caswell County Fair will be held in Yanceyville, October 1, 2, and 3." Source: Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, North Carolina), 29 September 1918, Sunday, Page 26.

The first modern version of the Caswell County Agricultural Fair was held in 1954 (October 8-13). It was sponsored by the local chapters of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, working with the county's farm organizations. Entries were expected in most of the county's farm crops and many home products. Source: Durham Morning Herald (Durham, NC), 9 September 1956.

This modern version of the fair ran uninterrupted until 2004, falling one year short of fifty years in operation.