Jun 23, 2023 3 min read

As part of its 225th anniversary celebrations, the Washington County Agricultural Fair is launching a memorial plaza, and bricks commemorating the past, celebrating the present and looking to the future are available for purchase.

The engraved bricks will make up the plaza floor, allowing fair-goers and supporters to be a permanent part of 225 years’ worth of tradition and counting.

“It’ll be brand new, nothing like it on the fairgrounds here in the past,” said Wayne Hunnell, secretary of the Washington County Agricultural Fair board. “I think (people) are going to be really surprised how nice it’s going to look.”

Those entering the Washington County Fairgrounds this year at the Arden Mine Gate will notice the ADA-compliant Memorial Plaza straight ahead. The project boasts two seat-height stone walls, to be completed by John Tarr. A three-panel installation detailing fair history and directing visitors to points of interest will stand at the walls’ intersection.

The plaza floor will be comprised of 4-by-8-inch and 8-by-8-inch bricks engraved with family names, memorial tributes, business and organization names or quotes. Anything within reason is acceptable, Hunnell said, as long as the wording is 18 characters across and three lines max for the smaller and six lines max for the larger bricks.

In keeping with the 225th celebration, 4-by-8-inch bricks are available for $225. Larger bricks may be purchased for $425.

To ensure bricks are laid in the plaza by the fair’s opening day, orders must be placed on or before Saturday, July 1. Orders will be taken after July 1, but there is no guarantee those bricks will arrive in time for the start of this year’s fair.

The Memorial Plaza was born of collaboration. During a trip to the state fair convention in January, Hunnell and board President Todd Richards were introduced to another Pennsylvania fair’s memorial wall. That wall was comprised of engraved tiles, similar to backsplash.

When Hunnell and Richards met with the Washington County Fair’s 225th Anniversary Committee, the memorial wall was brought up and the committee ran with the idea.

“There’s about 14 people in total on that committee. The committee thought it was a great idea. It was kind of a collaborative effort of what we had seen and the committee saying, why don’t we make this a plaza instead of just a wall?” Hunnell said.

The Memorial Plaza is situated across the road from a newly renovated building covered in a grand mural.

The 56-foot-long mural “wraps around the end of the building,” said Hunnell, and showcases livestock on display at the fair, including beef and dairy cattle, horses and lambs. The mural takes admirers on a journey from the fair’s formative years, when men wore ties and ladies, dresses, through today’s larger, more casual event.

“I think people coming into this year’s fair will be pleasantly surprised to see the plaza plus the mural, and a number of things here on the grounds,” Hunnell said.

To place a brick order, visit the Washington County Fair office, 2151 N. Main St., Washington, or call 724-225-7718. For more information, or to purchase online, visit https://www.bricksrus.com/donorsite/washfair225.