The 65th (at least in its current incarnation) annual Lafayette County Fair is being held this week at the fairgrounds just off Highway 82 between Stamps and Lewisville. Before that, it was held at a location just off the Skelly Road (now County Road 22), which basically runs from the southwest part of Stamps to the southeast part of Lewisville, and vice versa.
Few are aware, however, that at least on one occasion, the Lafayette County Fair was held in Bradley. In 1947, the Fair was in its third year. Exactly where in Bradley was it held? In the field just south of what members of my generation remember as the residence of Mr. & Mrs. L. E. “Happy” Taylor. Today, it might occur to many that there wasn’t much room for such an undertaking in that location because of the proximity of Highway 29 just behind (east) of that field. However, that portion of Highway 29 was not constructed until 1954, seven years later. Highway 29 ran in 1947 in front of the Taylor residence, i.e., between their home and the railroad tracks.
The following are some photos of that event, which have yellowed and deteriorated with the years. A makeshift corral was erected for the livestock events:
Local merchants exhibited their wares:
And, finally, the following photo shows a reasonably good of view of what was then Highway 29, still unpaved, next to the railroad.
bradleyark.com 