Kentucky State Fair, 1910

The Kentucky State Fair is one of the oldest fairs celebrated in the United States. Its beginning can be traced back to 1816 when Colonel Lewis Sanders of Fayette County, Kentucky (no known relation to Colonel Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame) organized the first fair in the Commonwealth. The fair became official in 1902 after being mandated by the Kentucky General Assembly the previous year. It was held at the famed Churchill Downs initially, then rotated throughout various communities until finding a permanent home in Louisville’s West End at the newly created Kentucky State Fairgrounds on September 14, 1908. In 1956 the fair was moved to the Kentucky State Fairgrounds and Exposition Center where it remains today.

In September 1910, the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville featured a “Baby Incubator” exhibit that became the subject of national news following a tragedy, in which three premature infants died while on display. The infants were variously reported to have been brought to the exhibition from an “asylum” in St. Paul, Minnesota or a “charities hospital” in Chicago. The exhibition was shut down by police following the deaths. The manager or proprietor, Dr. Donald Snyder of Pittsburgh, was arrested in Jefferson, Indiana, along with his wife, who was arrested as an accessory.

Dr. Snyder stated that the deaths were caused by exhaustion from the long train trip and “inanition.” Dr. E. J. Meyer in charge of the medical department at the Fair, stated that the deaths were caused by lack of nourishment and improper feeding. It also transpired that the electricity at the fair had been cut off for two of the nights, so the incubators had no power, making it quite likely that hypothermia contributed to the demise of the infants.

During the trial, it was learned that two other babies had died when the same show was Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and that Snyder was not a physician. According to one source, Snyder was fined $5.00 and costs in 9 cases and his wife was fined $1.00 and costs in the same number of charges. Another source, the Kentucky “Public Ledger,” stated that Snyder and his wife were fined $242 (about $8,200 in 2025 dollars).

I have included a sampling of the many news stories that were published in cities from coast to coast.

Last Updated on 01/28/26