With the California State Fair underway, we thought we would share some history of how our State Fair originated here in Sacramento. On September 20, 1852, California’s first agricultural fair began at James Lloyd Lafayette Franklin Warren’s New England Seed Store, located on J Street between Front and Second Streets, just over a block from where our museum stands today in Old Sacramento. J.L.L.F. Warren invited farmers and others in the industry to display their products, mineral collections, and to discuss farming issues. This event would become a precursor to the California State Fair. Warren’s New England Seed Store, unfortunately, burned down in the Great Conflagration on November 2, 1852. Warren later founded the California Farmer and Journal of Useful Sciences newspaper in 1854 and also helped establish the California State Agricultural Society. The State Agricultural Society was authorized by the California Legislature to hold exhibitions of livestock, manufactures, and produ...