The Almonte Fair

The annual fair of the North Lanark Agricultural Society is one of the oldest fairs in the Ottawa Valley. Continuously in operation each year without a break. It began in Carleton Place, not Almonte, back in 1840 when the Bathurst District Agricultural Society was formed. The Bathurst District included Lanark and Renfrew counties and that part of Carleton County which included Bytown. It had Perth as its judicial centre, here all property was registered and all court cases tried, even for Bytown. However, the Bathurst District gave way to the riding of Lanark and Renfrew and finally the North and South ridings of Lanark were created in 1848. The North Lanark Agricultural Society continued from the former district society.The annual Show Fair was held for a number of years in Carleton Place. Then, because many more Ramsay people were exhibitors, a meeting was held in the Ramsay town hall, on the 8th line near the Auld Kirk, Jan 22, 1858. There the Con­stitution was drawn up for the North Lanark Agricultural Society which was to hold its annual fair at Ramsayville, now Almonte. For a few years the fair was held on the McFarlane Farm where Boyd Jamieson now lives. An annual picnic was also held there by the society.However in 1862 three acres of land was purchased in the town beside the river where it has remained. 

To read more about the fair's history please visit our history section of the website.