OMAHA (DTN) -- One of the best-known traditions across rural America is the county fair. One town in the county hosts this annual celebration and kids (and even some adults) show off their projects and attend various other activities just once a year.

This is certainly the case for my home county of Washington County, Nebraska. The fairgrounds are in the town of Arlington in the southwestern part of the county, and the fair has been there for 107 years.

As with any fairgrounds of that age, the buildings have changed over the years. Some older buildings were torn down for newer structures over the century. Many of the smaller wood buildings were replaced with larger metal ones.

However, two original wood buildings managed to survive over the years. They were two identical buildings that housed livestock right next to each other during the entire run of the fair. Generations of families showed their livestock in these simple structures.

Growing up in the county to the south, I didn't really know the history of these buildings until this year's fair. The 2026 Washington County Fair marked the last year for these two original buildings.

They have already been torn down after 107 years of standing, along with the building that housed poultry and rabbits. A new building will be built in their spot to house cattle (both dairy and beef) and hogs, including a show ring and seating. Sheep will move into another building on the grounds and share it with the goats while the poultry and rabbit exhibits are moving into the old cattle barn.

Change is hard for most people, especially after 107 years. It's a bittersweet moment for everyone involved.

One of a friend's family showed hogs in these buildings for four generations. Another person who grew up in the county said when she was a kid both buildings were for hogs and the sheep were housed in another building. They all spent much of their childhoods in these wood structures.

One day during the fair I was in the hog barn and an older guy I know came through the building. We chatted a bit and he told me he and his brothers showed hogs in this building when they were kids and he even took me to the pen they usually had.

I asked him how many years ago this was. He thought for a few seconds and said it was probably 60-some years ago. The buildings were "only" about 50 years old then.

That is a legacy.

While our own family ties are not that deep with this fair, my kids are part of these old livestock buildings at the Washington County fairgrounds.

My three children showed sheep and hogs in these two buildings over the last 14 years. Our oldest son aged out of 4-H several years ago now, but our middle son and daughter continue to show, at least for a few more years as both are in high school.

We have a lifetime of memories in those old buildings.

My oldest son would have slept in the sheep barn if we had let him when he first was in 4-H. The "fun" of washing sheep and hogs in the hot summer sun. The "rush" of trying to prepare the animals on show mornings in these buildings.

The one time our hogs broke the chain and clip on their pen and were wandering around outside the building. This is why I always wired the gate closed in addition to clipping the chain.

Unfortunately, time has taken a toll on these original buildings. Even with regular maintenance over the years, they were showing their age.

We used to push our pen wood shavings in the middle alley after the fair, and a skid steer would push them to the end of both buildings and into a dumpster. But we haven't been able to do this in recent years because the buildings lean somewhat and the skid steer no longer fits down the alleys.

In the sheep building on show morning, everyone would be using a lot of electricity with many blowers, clippers and fans running and we would ALWAYS trip the circuit breakers. You would have to trip them back many times that morning to keep the electricity flowing.

People even began to utilize small generators to avoid using the aging building's electricity.

The fair board considered their options for many years. I served on the Washington County 4-H Council for two terms, and I knew that these buildings' life span was limited from their discussions. After the 2025 fair, they announced this year's fair would be the end for these vintage structures.

It's a bittersweet choice they made for the future of the fair. I knew several of the members of the board showed livestock in those buildings, as did previous generations of their families. But they also wanted a better facility for the kids of the county and decided it was time for a new building.

Last Wednesday was the last day of the fair. Families across the county collected 4-H projects and returned home with them.

Those who had poultry, rabbits, sheep and hogs lingered a little longer in their three buildings. Many parents were taking photos of their children, both inside and outside of the buildings.

Some even took keepsakes from these buildings. We took a longer piece of wood off the one side of the sheep building. It's just a piece of weathered wood; but then again, it's more than that considering our experiences of the last 14 years.

The 2027 Washington County Fair will feature a brand-new livestock building. Someone pointed out that decades down the road this new building will have a legacy of its own, just like the old buildings had, and new generations will have their own memories in this yet-to-be-built building.

The livestock legacy in the county will live on.

Russ Quinn can be reached at Russ.Quinn@dtn.com

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