The Middlesex County Fair was founded by the Milltown Grange in 1938 as a successor to their Flower and Crop Show which had been held at the Grange in 1937. Incorporated as a non-profit organization, the original Trustees had to be members of the East Brunswick Grange. The Grange had been in the process of changing their name having moved to East Brunswick in 1936 to the new Grange Hall built near the corner of Dunhams Corner Road and Ryders Lane - which was the home of the Raritan Valley YMCA until it was sold in 2003. Fred Gauntt, Master of the Grange at that time appointed H. Earl Propst as Fair Chairman and Fred C. Heyl as Secretary-Treasurer of the fair. Heyl remained Secretary-Treasurer until his death in 1956.

The fair was a great success even in its first year. Total receipts for the first fair were $1,079.23 with a profit of $140.80. Admission was 10 cents. $194.55 was collected on General Admission, so about 2,000 people attended that first fair.

The fair was not held during the Second World War as the government asked that all state and county fairs be canceled so that the scarce resources of the farming communities could be fully directed towards the war effort.

After the Second World War, there was much debate in the Grange about continuing to sponsor the fair. After much discussion the Grange agreed to allow the fair to continue on their property, but asked that another sponsor be found. Fred C. Heyl and his wife approached Russell Herbert and Joseph J. Smith to ask if the fair might be sponsored by the Middlesex County Board of Agriculture. The Board agreed as long as it did not cost them any money. As a result, Russell Herbert and Joseph J. Smith loaned the necessary money to the fair Association. It was not until 1960, however, that the Certificate of Incorporation was changed to reflect the sponsorship by the Middlesex County Board of Agriculture.

The county fair was held at the East Brunswick Grange and the contiguous properties of the Dunhams Corner Union Chapel and the Township of East Brunswick Municipal Complex which then consisted of a town hall and garage that would eventually become Playhouse 22.

Russell Herbert served the fair every year after 1938, serving as Fair Manager from 1955 until his retirement in 1979. Edgar Renk was President of the Fair Association from 1979 until his death in 1983. Another individual with many years of service was Clarence Dey who served as president from 1983 until 1987. Grace M. Auer, who started as an active volunteer in 1937, served as President from 1987 until 1999, and passed on in 2001. Barbara Ann Foerter followed Auer as President until her death in September 2002. She was succeeded by Alan M. Habiak, who serves as the current President and General Manager.

Through the years the fair continued to grow in size and success. In 1960 the trustees realized that the fair had outgrown the Dunhams Corner Road properties and decided to enter into negotiation for the purchase of the Scott Farm on Cranbury Road. This paved the way for the development of the Middlesex County Fairgrounds as it is known today, with closing on September 15, 1961.

It took nearly four years for approvals to be received from East Brunswick and the County for the use of the property as the fairgrounds, and nearly a year to clear and prepare the property for parking and fair activity space. Despite these hurdles, the fair opened on its own property for the fair of 1965. The Fair Catalog in 1965 was dedicated to Helen Heyl Herbert and Russell Herbert, which served to recognize Helen Heyl, her husband, Fred, and Russell Herbert as the driving forces behind the start the fair. By this time, Mr. Heyl had died in 1956, and Mrs. Herbert also passed away. Helen Heyl and Russell Herbert married, uniting the two families who had supported the fair from the beginning. Helen Heyl served as Secretary of the fair until her death in 1977.


The fair has grown in size and quality over the years. As the fair has grown, permanent buildings and structures have been added to the fairgrounds, including a fair office building and meeting place for the trustees where the Middlesex County Board of Agriculture met until the construction of their new facility on Riva Avenue in 2006. Other improvements have included the home arts building, a large refreshment stand, a chicken dinner pavilion, an entertainment dressing room, the 4-H home building on fair property donated to the 4-H for that purpose. A new, larger horse ring was opened in 1999, and an entirely new electrical system has been installed at the cost of nearly $270,000, bringing all fair lighting up to current electrical code. In 2008 and 2009, the association added fencing around the perimeter of the fairgrounds for safety and security.

Aside from its namesake purpose, the fairgrounds have served the community for many years as a mecca for children's soccer. East Brunswick built a soccer and football park behind the fairgrounds, and has used as many as eight fields on the fairgrounds itself. A major portion of the fair parking lot was graded to provide more adequate fields on them, with the lot being used for the park and all soccer and football activity. Several years ago, East Brunswick
Township purchased Heavenly Farms on Dunhams Corner Road, and approached the association to acquire 9.22 acres connecting the property to the landlocked Dideriksen Park, located behind the fairgrounds. The deal was finalized in 2005.