Don’t miss this permanent museum exhibition at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds.
The Century Museum Village at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds
The sign that welcomes you to the museum
The museum is only open when the fairgrounds are open but it is a treat to those history buffs who want to have as glimpse of life in the early agricultural Hudson River Valley.
The museum at its entrance.
Each of the displays depict a way of life themed many farming families lived in the late 1800’s to the early twentieth century.
The turn of the century ‘Wash Day’ display
The new Barbershop display
The family picnic display from the front of the museum
Transportation from the turn of the last century
The farming techniques before the advent of the modern gas equipment
Farming equipment from the early 1800’s
The back part of the museum is a Blacksmith Shop where a demonstration was going on while I was there.
The Blacksmith Shop
The engines and early modern equipment and engines
The displays are interactive and there are volunteers on hand to explain the time period
Open: When the fairgrounds are open Spring, Summer and Fall for events
Admission: Free
My review on TripAdvisor:
The Century Museum Village inside the Dutchess County Fairgrounds
When the Dutchess County Fairgrounds are open for the season for big events in the Spring, Summer and Fall, the fairgrounds open their historical museums that are located on the property. These include the School House Museum and the Train Station Museum and the when the volunteers are there the Dutchess County Volunteer Firemen’s Museum. The main museum is the Century Museum Village, a look at rural life in Dutchess County at the turn of the last century.
The Schoolhouse Museum in the Century Museum Village
The Train Station Museum at the Century Museum Village
I updated my trip to the Dutchess County Fair when visiting in 2024. It is one of the great fairs of New York State and you all should not miss it next summer!
The Dutchess County 4 H Display
Don’t miss the fairways and the food at the Fair!
The Midway during the day
The Midway at night
It was another wonderful day on August 22nd, 2025:
The weather was on the 80’s and sunny all day long
What a beautiful day on the midway
It was starting to get crowded by the early afternoon
Of course I needed my Jaken’s Hamburger fix
The line might be long but worth it
The Pulled Pork Cheeseburger with homemade pierogi
I took some time off from walking in the City to walking around Upstate. I read that the Dutchess County Fair was the last week of August and I had not visited it since my first summer when I was attending the Culinary Institute of America in 1996. I wanted to see if it changed much in twenty years and it hasn’t.
From parking in the lot at the Dutchess County to the buildings that housed the animals and displays it looked to me that nothing changed in over twenty years with the exception of people taking pictures with their phones. Even then, I did not see that many phones out. The Fair was in its 173rd year and people were just having a good time with their families. It was a similar day when I went for the 174th year. The place was crowded with local families catching up…
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