KENT KRIEGSHAUSER/The Register-MailKnox County Fair Board President Tom Collopy stands by the bleachers as he looks up at what is left of the show ring building on the fairgrounds. The show ring and hog building have been razed to make way for one large building that will take the place of the two.
Fair to get new livestock barn
Construction to begin next week at fairgrounds
Friday, June 1, 2007
KNOXVILLE - The longest-running county fair in Illinois is building a new livestock exhibition center, one of the biggest projects in fair history.Volunteers demolished the swine barn and show ring building at the Knox County Fairgrounds this spring and construction will begin next week on a livestock barn that increases the square footage by 45 percent.
For years, board members and exhibitors have said the swine building needs to be replaced. The posts were rotten, the roof leaked, lighting was dim, and the 50-year-old building had poor air flow, making hot summer days even hotter for exhibitors and sometimes dangerously hot for livestock.
"We were losing exhibitors because of the way the facilities were in the pig barn," said Ty Landon, vice president of the Knox County Fair Board.
Now they hope to gain.
The new facility is intended to create a quality show environment for local exhibitors that also should help attract out-of-area showmen to the 157-year-old Knox County Fair. The building also will be capable of hosting regional and national livestock sales and shows, something in demand at the fairgrounds because of its location off Interstate 74 Exit 51, board president Tom Collopy said.
Volunteers and construction workers have removed the 50-year-old swine barn and the 30-year-old building that houses the primary show ring. The buildings were within 40 feet of each other on the west side of the fairgrounds. A single building will be built in their place beginning next week. Amish workers will finish construction the end of this month, allowing for the county fair and 4-H exhibitors to use the new facility this summer, Landon said.
This multi-purpose building will look similar to the nearby 4-H Pavilion Building, constructed in 1999. Half of the building's clearance will be 16 feet, with the remaining at 8 feet. The eaves will be 2 feet higher than the old barn and the roof will include sky lights. The facility will have an improved electrical system and 200 metal-gated pens for hogs, sheep, goats and livestock of similar size. The old barn had 120 pens. A show ring will be in the center of the building.
The facility this year will have a dirt floor. Concrete floors, restrooms, expanded wash racks and new bleachers will be added in coming years. The initial project cost is $75,000, which is being funded by a bank loan and ongoing fund raisers.
