The
Wisconsin State Fair Park is a fairgrounds and exhibition center in the
Milwaukee suburb of
West Allis,
Wisconsin,
USA. It has been the location of the
Wisconsin State Fair since 1892. It also hosts other venues such as the
Milwaukee Mile, the oldest continuously operating motor speedway in the world, and the
Pettit National Ice Center, a U.S. Olympic training facility which is owned by the State of Wisconsin.
History
In 1891, the Wisconsin Agricultural Society purchased almost 100 acres (40
ha) 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 during the
Spanish-American War 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 grounds of the State Fair, at the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources park site, contain one of only two Indian effigy mounds remaining in
Milwaukee County. (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.
Wisconsin State Fair Park was also the location of a
football stadium informally known as the
Dairy...
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