Vigo County Historical Society

Small ruby wine glasses popular souvenirs of 1898 Terre Haute street fair

The street fair of 1898 was neither the first nor the last such event in Terre Haute but it was perhaps the climax of them all.

Sponsors and participants were afraid the weather might spoil the event, for it had rained several days before Oct. 10, the opening day.

The purpose of the citywide event clearly was stated to benefit tradesmen and to advertise the city. Proof of the success of the fair was the tremendous attendance.

Terre Haute was ready for the visitors. While there was no midway as such, there were 20 free shows between Third and Eighth streets on Main Street (Wabash Avenue).

Officially titled "Street Fair and Peace Jubilee," the fair was advertised as all free with no vulgarity. The board had raised $10,000 at $5 per subscription share.

Guessing games and cake walks awarded prizes. Professor Frolich dived 110 feet into a net located just off Eighth Street.

Merchaants decorated their storefronts in special themes. The A&P was a Chinese camp. The Herz Store was a pagoda.

The Brazil Concert Band played free concerts and 2,500 electric lamps blazed.

The high point of the fair was the floral parade on Wednesday, Oct. 12. Horses were groomed, vehicles decorated and thousands of paper flowers were made. The Ladies of the Day Nursery made 150 paper roses in one day.

The parade formed at Strawberry Hiss at 2:30 p.m. A tally-ho from Indianapolis was decorated with 5,000 roses. Fifty gentlemen on horseback escorted the queen. The parade wound its way through the streets of downtown.

Although no vulgarity was the stated theme of the fair, newspaper accounts do say that some young men drove into town "to see the couchie-couchie girls, pet the lions and eat buttered popcorn."

As families left Terre Haute, they often stopped to buy a souvenir of the great street fair of 1898. Popular were small ruby wineglasses. Most had clear glass bases and stems. Some had ruby medallions in the pressed glass cups; others were pressed into intricate patterns. All were inscribed with the words, "Terre Haute Street Fair, 1898."