The Winhall Industrial Society is a non-profit, volunteer run organization that supports community initiatives on the Bondville Fairgrounds. We are charged with the annual endeavor of conducting the Fair.

We welcome you to the Bondville Fair, 2024.

The Bondville Fair is the oldest continuous fair in Vermont. The three-day format, which was introduced in 1995, will again be offered for your enjoyment. New events and more entertainment than ever before have been included in the expansion of this family-oriented event.

Constructive criticism is always welcomed. Please make your views known to any officer.

GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS

All stock and articles entered in any category must be under the care and control of the owner and entered at his/her own risk during the fair. Other than People Assisting (seeing eye, hearing) and during the Children's Pet Show.

Alcoholic beverages and Dogs are not permitted on the Fairgrounds. If pets are found left in vehicles, police will be notified.

Thank you for your cooperation!

The members of the society are indebted to their sponsors and advertisers for their interest in and support of the fair. It would have been impossible to conduct the Fair in its present format without their assistance.

THE HISTORY OF THE BONDVILLE FAIR…

In 1791 the Town of Winhall received its state charter which, among many other things, specified that the Town could have two fairs each year. The Town was incorporated in 1796 with the first Bondville Fair being held the following year.

The Fair was held one day each October, and, after the National Grange was established in 1867, Grange Day in the Spring became the other offering.

In its earliest years, the Fair was held at the Monteverde Hotel, west of the present post office. Foot races and horse races were run through the village, introduced by a band from Manchester. Then the Fair moved eastward, to the site of the current Outback Restaurant. It moved to its present location in the 20's, when Floral Hall was built. The Dance/Crafts Hall was added in the 30's, and other facilities through the 1980’s. The newest structures are the sugar house (1999) and the schoolhouse (2000).

Life was hard for families on the Vermont mountain farms pre-WWII, so you can imagine how people looked forward to the annual Bondville Fair. It brought in a Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, square dancing, games of chance, a horse pull, agricultural and handcraft exhibits, and yes, a girlie show (for men 18 and older), and a lot of hard drinking.

In fact, the Bondville Fair was known state-wide as a pretty wild affair. During Prohibition homemade hard cider of a lethal potency was passed around freely. However, the 1960's brought sobriety to the Fair and exile for the girlies.

Many folks over the years have worked hard to preserve the tradition of our Fair. In the last sixty years we are grateful to Win Hosley, Louie Roberts, Walter Rawson, Sprague Lyons, David Glabach, Robert Vail, John Angermeyer, and currently Scott Bushee, as our hardworking presidents of the Winhall Industrial Society, the sponsor of the Fair. Under its guidance and through the work of many devoted volunteers, the buildings and grounds have been maintained and added to. New activities appear each year, designed to appeal to children and adults of all ages.

But one thing has not changed. Competition for those trophies, blue ribbons and rosettes is as fierce as it ever was, even two hundred years ago.

Winhall Industrial Society Officers

The Winhall Industrial Society is always in need of more volunteers. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact bondvillefairmembers@gmail.com.

AILENE CAPEN, ELIZABETH CRICHTON AND JOHN GARDNER
A Bondville native, Ailene Norse Capen attended local schools and then graduated from the University of Vermont. She taught English and Latin at Bennington High School for many years. Always retaining her local roots, for over forty years she participated in the Fair as a judge, supervisor, and greeter in Floral Hall. To mark her long active role in and devotion to the Fair, Floral Hall was named in her honor prior to the 2000 Fair.

Elizabeth Crichton began spending summers in Bondville in 1932 when her mother Mary Greene bought a farm here. With time out for college (Smith) and World War II she was back with husband Andy and two boys in the early Fifties gardening and quilting and resting up from her winter chores as teacher and principal. Upon her retirement she became very involved with the Fair, serving both as Secretary of the Fair and Publicity Director. She was Superintendent of Floral Hall prior to starting the quilt exhibit in 1995, two years before the Crichtons became year-round Bondvillians. The Crafts-Quilt Hall was named in her honor in 2002.

While John Gardner was actually born in New Jersey he came to Bondville at a very early age and attended Winhall Elementary School prior to graduating from Leland and Gray, as well as Albany Business College. He served in Europe with the Air Force during World War II. After the war John returned to New Jersey where he worked as a longshoreman, always returning to Bondville for the summer and for participation in several capacities during the Fair. After his death in 1995 the new stage was built with donations.

Three things you probably didn't know about the Bondville Fair...

We are a non-profit, all-volunteer organization always looking for new friends to share their talents in helping us conduct the "Biggest Little Fair" in Vermont!

Thousands of dollars have been donated to local organizations including Grace Cottage Hospital, Londonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad, Winhall Fire Department and many other private donations.

We offer a Scholarship fund to graduating seniors and have distributed over $10,000 in funding over the past several years.