The Wisconsin State Fair Park is a fairgrounds and exhibition center in

West Allis West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census. History The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, a suburb west of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. It has been the location of the

Wisconsin State Fair The Wisconsin State Fair is an annual event held at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The modern fair takes place in August (occasionally beginning late July) and lasts 11 days. History The first ...

since 1892. The fairgrounds are open year-round, hosting various expeditions (many of them agricultural). It also contains venues such as the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectator ...

, the oldest continuously operating motor speedway in the world, and the

Pettit National Ice Center The Pettit National Ice Center is an indoor ice skating facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, featuring two international-size ice rinks and a 400-meter speed skating oval A speed skating rink (or speed skating oval) is an ice rink in which a spee ...

, a U.S. Olympic training facility which is independently owned. The Park is policed by the Wisconsin State Fair Park Police Department.

History

In 1891, the Wisconsin Agricultural Society purchased almost of farmland from George Stevens, in what was then North Greenfield (Honey Creek settlement), in order to secure a permanent site for the Wisconsin State Fair. The fairgrounds later became a staging ground for

Camp Harvey Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cl ...

and World Wars I and II. Two Wisconsin historical markers, which are positioned at the entrance of the Wisconsin Exposition Center, document this history for visitors. The NFL's

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

played several regular season home games per year at the park from

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a max ...

through

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, including the

1939 NFL Championship Game The 1939 NFL Championship Game was the seventh league championship game of the National Football League (NFL), held on December 10 inside the Milwaukee Mile, located at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Mi ...

. After a year at

Marquette Stadium Marquette Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the home field of the Golden Avalanche of Marquette University, its intercollegiate football team. Located in the Merrill Park neighborhood west of the university, th ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh ...

, the Packers moved their Milwaukee-area games to

County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packers ...

when it opened in 1953. Packer games in Milwaukee were ended after the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

season. The grounds of the State Fair, at the

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) is a government agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin charged with conserving and managing Wisconsin's natural resources. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board has the authority to set policy ...

park site, contain one of only two Indian effigy mounds remaining in

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...

. (The other is located at Lake Park in Milwaukee.) Four pre-historic mounds originally populated the location, which were built by the Woodlands People from 100 to 1000 AD. They contained artifacts dating to 8000 BC, some of which can be found at the

West Allis Historical Museum West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

. On July 25–27, 1969 the

Midwest Rock Festival The Midwest Rock Festival was a music festival held at the State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, on July 25–27, 1969. The festival featured Led Zeppelin, Buffy Sainte-Marie, The First Edition, Sweetwater, Pacific Gas & Electric, SRC and ...

was held at the State Fair Park.

State Fair Park Police

The Wisconsin State Fair Park Police Department is a law enforcement agency that protects the fair grounds and, if necessary, the area surrounding it. Officers enjoy full police powers, and has close connections to the West Allis Police Department. The department was founded in 1907 as a police entity. It continued to operate as such until 1999, when it was dissolved. Between 2000 and 2006, the

Wisconsin Capitol Police The Wisconsin State Capitol Police is a police force maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Administration, and is responsible for policing the Wisconsin State Capitol, state government facilities and the protection of the Governor and Lieutena ...

were responsible for law enforcement operations during the

. In 2007, the Wisconsin State Fair Park Police Department was recreated to provide year-round protection for the park grounds.

Park facilities

2022 Wisconsin State Fair 67 (Central Park)

Ag Village A&G, AG, Ag or ag may refer to Businesses and organizations * A&G Railroad (former reporting mark AG) * Action Group (Nigeria), a political party during the Nigerian First Republic * Aktiengesellschaft, a German type of corporation * Assembli ...

Master Spas Pavilion Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true ...

Special Guest Centers Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

Tommy G. Thompson Youth Center Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

Wisconsin Exposition Center The Wisconsin Exposition Center is an exhibit hall and exposition facility located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wisconsin and commonly referred to as the "Expo Center". It is owned and oper ...

Wisconsin Products Pavilion Wisconsin () is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 25th-largest state by total area and the List of U.S. states and territories by populatio ...

Parks of Milwaukee Most parks in Milwaukee are owned and maintained by Milwaukee County as part of a county-wide system. However, some parks are administered by other entities, such as the state of Wisconsin, the city of Milwaukee, or neighborhood organizations. P ...

References

External links

Wisconsin State Fair Park
{{Coord, 43, 1, 19, N, 88, 0, 46, W, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Fairgrounds in the United States American Football League (1940) venues Tourist attractions in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin American football venues in Wisconsin