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The Eastern States Agricultural and Industrial Exposition was founded more than a century ago to promote the agricultural and industrial development of the eastern states. Held at the fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts, the inaugural event was the National Dairy Show in 1916, followed by what would become known as The Big E, the combined state fair of the six New England states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Weathering floods, hurricanes, the Great Depression, and two world wars, it is currently one of the largest fairs in North America, with an attendance of over 1.3 million fairgoers in 2015. With photographs spanning the past century from exposition archives, area residents, and his own collection, author David Cecchi presents a fascinating visual history of what he refers to as the fair.

Since its opening in 1867, the Tunbridge World's Fair has drawn hundreds of thousands of people to its one-of-a-kind event, showcasing the best of regional agriculture and entertainment. The fair, originally intended to determine who owned the fastest horse or best-looking cow, began as an improvised event in farmer Elisha Lougee's North Tunbridge pasture and quickly grew into the complex it is today, with well-developed fairgrounds centered around a half-mile racetrack. During the 1929 fair, the Log Cabin Museum was opened with many local residents reenacting the skills of the early settlers. Over the generations, the fair has matured into the best of its kind in northern New England.