James E. Ward

The center that carries Ward's name is better known as the home of the Wilson County Fair. A nonprofit, Wilson County Promotions, started the fair in 1979, and more than a thousand volunteers run it. Its organizers say they had to offer far more than a normal county fair because they were competing with the Opryland theme park for crowds. About 578,000 people came in 2019. In 2021 the Tennessee State Fair, held in Nashville since 1855, moved here and merged with it.

What the plaque says

James E. Ward 1907-1982 Dedicated on July 19, 1976, the James E. Ward Agricultural Center was named in honor of agricultural agent James E. Ward who served as Wilson County's agricultural agent from 1936 to 1973. A key organizer of the Hereford Breeders Association and instrumental in developing a market for sheep products, Ward aided in diversifying Wilson County's agriculture. His knowledge and guidance led the country to the forefront of agricultural and livestock production in Tennessee. Ward was also an authority on curing and cooking country hams.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Wynnewood State Historic Site — 14 mi
  A National Historic Landmark log inn at the Bledsoe's Lick springs, beside a Mississippian mound center and tied to the domestic slave trade.
• Andrew Jackson's Hermitage — 19 mi
  Andrew Jackson's cotton plantation east of Nashville, where visitors can walk to the quarters, Alfred's Cabin and the Enslaved Cemetery as well as the mansion.
• Stones River National Battlefield — 24 mi
  The Murfreesboro battlefield of December 1862, with a national cemetery built by Black soldiers, a Trail of Tears route and the story of the freedmen's settlement called Cemetery.
• Red Boiling Springs — 33 mi
  A Macon County spa town built around red sulphur springs, with five kinds of mineral water, red-painted pumps and the surviving hotels of a resort that once held more than a dozen.

More markers nearby

• Wilson County Training School — 1.0 mi
• Lebanon Post Office — 1.1 mi
• Pickett Chapel / Civil Rights — 1.2 mi
• Wilson County Courthouses — 1.2 mi