Agricultural Park

Platte County had a private fairground long before this one. After the first county association failed and years passed without a fair, G. W. Clother, Carl Kramer, Philip Cain, James E. North, John Wiggins and Robert Stewart incorporated the Columbus Driving Park and Fair Association in July 1881. They bought forty acres about a mile north of town, fenced thirty with tight boards, built a pavilion and laid out a race course for agricultural horse trots, spending $4,000. Their first fair that year was well attended, paid every premium in full and left money in the treasury.

What the plaque says

Agricultural Park Due to the generosity of Mrs. Albert Gehner, Mr. Theodore Friedhof, and many other benefactors, this site has become a focal point of agricultural activity in Platte County. The donation of this land, formerly known as the Browner Farm, and a large sum of money enabled the dreams of several area residents to become reality on June 3, 1941. On that date, a non-profit organization was formed for the purpose of "encouraging improvement in all things pertaining to agriculture, industry, merchandising, domestic science and good citizenship in Platte County." Since that date, county fairs have been held annually under the supervision of a 15-member board of directors, elected from throughout the county. Numerous activities promoting livestock breeding and the work of 4-H and F.F.A. clubs are also held frequently. Thoroughbred horse racing meets are held each summer. Hundreds of college scholarships have been awarded deserving students of the county since the inception of this society, and many donations have been made to worth- while civic projects. Platte County Agricultural Society Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Genoa U.S. Indian School Museum — 20 mi
  The surviving trades building of a federal boarding school that ran from 1884 to 1934 on the Pawnee Nation's last Nebraska land, where at least 86 children died and the cemetery is still lost.

More markers nearby

• Frank Zybach - Inventor of Center-Pivot Irrigation Machine — 1.2 mi
• The North Brothers — 1.6 mi
• The Villasur Expedition, 1720 — 1.7 mi
• Andrew Jackson Higgins — 1.8 mi