Then and Now: Kootenai County Fairgrounds mural stands test of time
From left: Clyde Boatright (chairman of the fair board), Pepper Smock (son), Summer Smock (daughter), Barbara Renner (fair manager), Donna Bailey (widow of Everett Bailey), Greg Charlton (fair board member), Bob Dreyer (fair board member), and Rich Koerner (president of Panhandle Kiwanians) in front of the Kootenai County Fairgrounds mural. The mural was dedicated to Everett Bailey, a longtime fair board member who had passed away, in 1989.
Coeur d'Alene Press/Aug. 22, 1989
Thirty-five years after the Kootenai County Fairgrounds mural was dedicated, it is still a year-round landmark along Government Way in Coeur d'Alene.
The Kootenai County Fairgrounds have long been the home of the North Idaho State Fair — but that wasn’t always the case.
The first couple of fairs were held in Post Falls in 1922 and Worley in 1923, according to the Kootenai County Fairgrounds website. The earliest fairs provided the opportunity for 4-H members to showcase their projects, which is still the case today. As the fair grew in popularity, its venue changed multiple times until the 1950s. That's when the county and city made a land swap that gave the fair its current home on Government Way.
Some landmarks have been around for a while, including the Kootenai County Fairgrounds mural that can be seen from Government Way. Painted in the 1980s, the mural was dedicated 35 years ago to the memory of Everett Bailey, a longtime fair board member who had recently passed away. The cost of the mural project was about $20,000 and was funded largely by donations, The Press originally reported Aug. 22, 1989.
Thirty-five years after the Kootenai County Fairgrounds mural was dedicated, it is still a year-round landmark along Government Way in Coeur d'Alene.