The Butler County Fair has been held at three different locations since it began in 1856: Shell Rock, Willoughby Village (in between what is now Shell Rock and New Hartford), and Allison. Zoe Ann Anderson was crowned as the first Butler County Fair Queen in 1956 during its centennial celebration. She represented the town of Greene. The Butler County Fair celebrated its centennial anniversary in 1956. Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a Western Union Telegram congratulating the Butler County Fair during its centennial celebrations. Long-time Director and former Board President, Mike Ruby, is originally from Maryland. In 1986, the first Senior Citizens Day event was held. Famous country music singer and songwriter, Tanya Tucker, performed at the Butler County Fair in 1974. In 1906, the fair included an exhibition of a two-wheeled cart being pull around the racetrack by an Ostrich! Well-known country singer, Cissie Lynn, performed at the fair in 1990. The famous country music duo, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, performed at the 1970 Butler County Fair. A two-year-old trotter named Jodevin had his first start at the Butler County Fair in 1976. That same year he set a United States record as a two-year-old trotting a mile in one minute and 59 seconds.
