(ABC 6 News)- The biggest free county fair in the state of Minnesota dates all the way back to the late 1800s.

“The first recorded history was in 1871 and the fair slowly grew from then until the early 1900s, and finally the county commissioners decided we needed a permanent home,” said Dan Deml, the President of the Steele County Fair Board of Directors.

The fair became a free fair in 1927 and has been growing since then.

“Once we became a free fair, attendance really accelerated rather rapidly,” said Deml.

The fairgrounds even hosting the state fair in the 1880s.

“There was no state fair as we know it today so they would designate a county fair to be the state fair. We were the last two years of that state fair designation,” Deml said.

One long time fairgoer describes how he has seen the fair evolve over his years of attendance.

“Over the years, we’ve gotten so many new food stands and new singers coming by and I just think it’s evolved so nice and its great that we have people from all over coming to see Owatonna,” said Valen Goddard, who has been going to the Steele County Fair since when he was born.

The fair became the biggest in the state due to all of its support.

“We’ve had great sponsorships from the community, from Owatonna, and all of Steele County, and even surrounding areas, that has allowed us to dramatically increase our entertainment for instance,” said Deml.

The fair will run through Sunday. Come down and see all the fun for yourself. For day-to-day events at the Steele County Fair, click here.