“Always Labor Day Weekend” was the Maine State Fair slogan when I was growing up. Those days may be gone, but to anyone who experienced its annual six days of excitement, along with a fair share of education, there were many lasting memories.

I researched several years in which the fairgrounds next to the railroad tracks on Lewiston’s outer Main Street drew thousands of attendees from many miles around. Just as I expected, I found descriptions of unusual exhibits, special races, and all kinds of local exhilaration connected with state fair week.

On Sept. 1, 1913, the Lewiston Evening Journal headlined record trolley use.

“In fact, it was without doubt the biggest day in the history of the road,” the reporter said. “Twenty cars were continually carrying the throngs to and from Lake Grove in the afternoon (where a Labor Day celebration had taken place) and seventeen cars were kept busy, at the same time, on the line to the Maine State Fair Grounds.”

The story said, “double-headers” were making regular trips between Lewiston and Bath, and also between Lewiston and Augusta and every line in the two cities was crowded to the limit.”

The writer added, “Everything except freight and gravel cars were pressed into service.”

The first fair to take place on what was to become known as the Lewiston Fairgrounds was in 1881, although agricultural fairs at various locations took place in Lewiston as early as 1837.

The Maine State Agricultural Society put on annual fairs at locations around the state beginning in 1855 up until it built a park and a half-mile racetrack in Lewiston.

Whether harness racing, farm exhibits or carnival hoopla was the main attraction, the fairs had something for everyone. Most events were at the fairgrounds, but Lewiston City Hall was the site of one highly anticipated event.

In 1904, news stories spoke of the popularity of “The Grand Art Exhibition and The Annual Baby Show.” That year, on Sept. 29, a Lewiston impresario staged “Amateur Night of Maine” and billed it as “the biggest novelty entertainment ever attempted in this city.” It offered a first prize of “ten dollars in gold.”

Through the years, fair-goers could see all kinds of remarkable presentations. There were early hot air balloon ascensions, airplane flights, parachute jumps and horse and auto racing. One of the novelty races in 1913 was a three-mile relay race between three women riders who would switch off on nine horses. The winner was 14-year-old Maria Millard.

There’s lots of unexpected nostalgia to be found in the old news stories of fair week. In 1912, you could visit the Jell-O booth, where delicious puddings could be sampled. They also featured an “ice cream powder,” which came with an aluminum mold.

Occasionally, celebrities wound up at the Maine State Fair in Lewiston.

It was 1936 when former heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey greeted admirers. He was there on a campaign appearance with then-Gov. Louis J. Brann. Dempsey was scheduled to referee some boxing bouts, but the governor hurried the champ away, saying his limited time didn’t allow for it.

The Lewiston Fairgrounds boasted a large grandstand on the King Avenue side of the racetrack, and there was an impressive exhibition hall that fell victim to fire around the middle of the last century. Fires in the stables and livestock buildings also were a danger throughout the year, and several buildings were lost in major blazes.

In size, the Maine State Fair didn’t compare with the extravagant events organized in some other states. In longevity, it didn’t match the 195 consecutive years of the Skowhegan State Fair, which is still going strong.

And, for all its glamor, it didn’t deliver the down-home charm of a tiny volunteer event held yearly several decades ago at East Auburn, which proclaimed itself as “The Little World’s Fair.” That grandiose label pointed out the powerful impact that any fair —large or small — can have on memory and imagination.

The Lewiston Fairgrounds serves other business and governmental purposes now. There won’t ever be another fair like those presented there over roughly 100 years, but we can be thankful for the Great Falls Balloon Festival, which just wrapped up more than 20 years as a similar community showcase.

Dave Sargent is a freelance writer and a native of Auburn. He can be reached by sending email to dasargent@maine.com.