Wisconsin State Fair Park

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Wisconsin State Fair

The Wisconsin State Fair Park in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wisconsin 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.

[edit] History

In 1891 the Wisconsin Agricultural Society purchased almost 100 acres of farmland from George Stevens in what was then North Greenfield (Honey Creek settlement), in order to secure a permanent site for the event. 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 positioned at the entrance of the Wisconsin Exposition Center documents this history for visitors.

Also on the grounds of the State Fair, at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources park site, is one of only two remaining Indian effigy mounds left in Milwaukee County. The other is located at the historic Lake Park in Milwaukee. Four pre-historic mounds originally populated the location, and were built by the Woodlands People from 100 to 1000 A.D. They contained artifacts dating to 8000 B.C., some of which can be found at the West Allis Historical Museum.

Wisconsin State Fair Park was also the location of an football stadium. It hosted the NFL's Green Bay Packers from 1934 to 1951 when the team played in Milwaukee.