We celebrate 1831 as the founding date for the Port Hope & District Agricultural Society.
Farmers in Hope Township were interested in forming an Agricultural Society.
The records show that the first steps for establishing an Agricultural Society were taken in November 1830,
by the issue of a subscription list circulated among those desirous of becoming members and a meeting was
held at Bletcher’s Inn, at what is now Dale Corners, in December of 1830.
A constitution was drawn up and the Port Hope Agricultural Society became a reality on the 20th of January 1831.
The Secretary was authorized to import purebred cattle in 1832. Durham and other breeds were introduced and sold at cost to the members.
By 1834, the Society began to import good seed wheat.
Port Hope Agricultural Society was renamed the East Durham Agricultural Society in 1839 and in
1846 a provincial society was formed. After the union of Upper and Lower Canada in the 1840’s
agricultural societies became even more active, and their exhibitions stimulated wider use of agricultural machinery.
The County of Durham in 1852 was divided into two ridings – East and West.
Each riding formed its own society under the names of the East and West Durham Agricultural Societies.
The East Durham Agricultural Society continued to hold its annual exhibition at Market Square in Port Hope
with the Town used for exhibiting ladies’ work and fine arts.al machinery.
The property was leased for $80 per year for nine years,
and was bounded by Toronto Road on the West, Fraser Street on the North,
Victoria Street on the East and Arthur Street to the South. This area was known as Exhibition Park.
Spring fairs of the Hope Township Agricultural Society and union exhibitions of the East Durham and
Hope Township Agricultural Societies were held at Exhibition Park until 1889. The buildings were then
transferred in 1889 to the present site at Ward and Elgin known as the Town Agricultural Park.
In 1945, the Port Hope and District Agricultural Society installed a new gate entrance comprising
of concrete pillars and wrought iron fencing which were constructed to coincide with the Ontario Ministry
of Agricultural gift of a stone pylon and plague to the Port Hope Agricultural Society in recognition of over 100...
