Lost history of the Mississippi State Fair

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The 165th Mississippi State Fair will likely excite many across the state, but two major parts of its history are largely unknown or forgotten.

Much of the cultural identity of Jackson and Mississippi is tied to the fair. The Mississippi Agricultural Bureau and the Mississippi Agricultural Society sponsored the first state fair back in 1858. The fair on the 105-acre Mississippi State Fairgrounds now brings in over 500,000 people and $50 million of economic impact annually. Simply put, it offers many things to many people every October.

However, two things related to the fair’s past and present are largely unknown. Below is the overview.

Like many aspects of Mississippi life, officials segregated the state fair. By the 1960s, the fair had days where only white or Black residents attended. Residents, community and civil rights groups led a boycott of the fair in 1962. Only 3% of Black residents went to it that year.

In the summer of 1965, state legislators were in a special session to repeal Mississippi’s discriminatory voting laws. About 500 people came to the capital to protest their legitimacy as representatives of all Mississippians. About half of the protestors were teenagers.

Many were still arrested by Jackson police and transported to the state fairgrounds in paddy wagons and garbage trucks. Police housed protestors in facilities meant for livestock.

165th Mississippi State Fair opens to the public

Each year, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) employees make about 100,000 biscuits for the public during the Mississippi State Fair. However, the culinary tradition now synonymous with the fairgrounds is a relatively new development.

Longtime Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Jim Buck Ross’s visit to the Missouri State Fair inspired the start of the Mississippi phenomenon. Since the early 1970s, MDAC employees have made buttermilk biscuits from scratch and served them with Blackburn Made Syrup to fairgoers.

For those who cannot wait until October 3 to have those biscuits, below is the recipe.

The Legendary Mississippi State Fair Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees

• Lightly coat a large baking dish or cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray

• In a large bowl, add flour

  • Dig a well in the middle and add the shortening

  • Cut the shortening into flour until crumbly by using a hand, fork or pastry cutter

• Dig a well, add buttermilk and stir until a soft ball of dough forms

• Lightly flour a flat surface and put the soft ball of dough on it

  • Using your hands, flatten to 1/2 inch thickness

  • Use a 2-inch tin can or biscuit cutter, flour can or cutter before each cut. Do not twist when cutting

  • Cut out round biscuits and place them on a baking sheet

• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown

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