Fayette County Fair cuts ribbon on new barn
Million-dollar project doubles the space as previous barns
At the Fayette County Fairgrounds Wednesday night, people kept craning their necks in amazement.
The sight that drew multiple comparisons to New York City was the fair’s new small species barn, which many were seeing for the first time at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
At 100-by-176 feet, it’s about twice the size of the two smaller barns it replaces, said Pierce Willson, president of the Fayette County Fair Board.
The idea to replace the smaller barns after more than 50 years was developed about three years ago, but went into full swing about a year ago, Willson said. The barns were aging, he said, and built for livestock much smaller than what they have now.
The two old barns came down the week after last year’s fair. Through “unbelievable efforts,” the new one stood right behind him Wednesday, a week ahead of the next fair.
“Every time that I come in the fairgrounds and I come down here, I still picture the two old, white buildings, and it’s taken a little bit of time for me to get used to it,” he said. “But every time I walk down here, I kind of amaze myself to look at this and say, ‘This is really nice. You get the New York City effect; you just want to look up at it all the time.'”
The new space won praise from community members who wandered through it Wednesday, and from 4-H members who will be part of the first group to show animals in it.
“I feel like it’s a lot easier to maneuver through the barn than it was previously,” said 4-H member Emilyn Shearer of Connellsville. “Sometimes it was harder to get through with everything because it was so confined space-wise.”
Fundraising for the $1 million project included a donation last year from 9-year-old Harper Diamond, who announced during last year’s auction she was donating the proceeds from the sale of her pig to fund the new barn.
Her gesture led to a final sale price of $13,000. The generosity didn’t stop at the winning bidder; others in the crowd added money to the pot, resulting in a final total of $27,000 going to the fair.
“I just like to help a lot of people, and I wanted to provide something for future generations to come,” she said Wednesday.
Harper’s family operates Diamond Show Pigs in Masontown. Her parents, CJ and Corey Diamond, both grew up showing animals in the old barns.
Corey said the new barn could lead more children to take part in the fair.
“Hopefully, it attracts a few more 4-Hers, just so they can see what hard work actually does and help build the Fayette County Fair and help build out 4-H as a whole,” Corey said. “It’s a wonderful organization.”
The expanded space, high ceilings and big fans are a long way from the “hot, small pens,” CJ remembers.
“The animals are going to be a lot more comfortable,” he said. “It’s way more aesthetically appealing too, to be able to see something like this. It’s definitely a whole lot better than what it used to be.”
4-H members, animals and fairgoers will get to experience the barn for themselves starting Thursday, when the weeklong fair begins.