PIERRE, S.D. (AP)--Four years before statehood, the South Dakota State Fair was established by the 1885 Dakota Territorial Legislature to be self-supporting.

But even more than a century ago, state money was used for upkeep of the fairgrounds.

Historical records kept in the state Capitol indicate that the 1903 Legislature dedicated $100 for that purpose, a paltry sum by modern standards but a respectable amount for that period. The appropriation was attached to a measure that said the fair was to be permanently located for up to 10 years in Huron.

The annual exhibition had earlier been held in Mitchell, Aberdeen, Sioux Falls and Yankton. The first fair was staged in 1885 at Huron, and the fair has been held in that city continuously since 1905.

Eighty-five acres, with a $50,000 value, were given to the state in 1905 by the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad for use as the fairgrounds. More land and various buildings were added over the years, and the fairgrounds grew to its present size of 151 acres.

As time went by, early buildings were razed and replaced.

Lawmakers occasionally provided money for new buildings. For instance, the 1909 Legislature set aside $8,000 to erect a women's building, $8,000 for additional livestock buildings and $500 to install turnstiles at the main gate and amphitheater. Lawmakers also passed a bill that year to pay for maintenance and operations of the fair.

A grandstand used when the State Fair was held in Yankton was moved to Huron in 1905. A new grandstand was built in 1918 as the popularity of the fair grew, and many improvements and additions to the structure have since taken place.

Although the fair has drawn criticism in recent years for financial problems that have been eased by the Legislature, it is not alone in asking for government help, said Bob Duxbury of Wessington.

"I don't think there's a fair in the state anywhere that's self-supporting," he said.

Duxbury, a former State Fair Board member, state agriculture secretary and former legislator, said his family has entered exhibits at the State Fair every year since 1946.

The fair was set up to showcase South Dakota's agricultural sector, said Gov. Mike Rounds, and it also became an annual reunion site for farmers and ranchers.

The governor said the State Fair serves as an economic development tool and it also bolsters the traditional underpinnings of South Dakota's agricultural sector.

"It's a location where our farmers and ranchers have the opportunity to make business connections," Rounds said.

"At the same time, it's also a chance for farmers and ranchers to come in and find equipment that's located in one area. It's where you try to make sales to people that are looking for breeding stock, whether it be horses or cattle or swine. It's where seed salespeople can showcase the best crop products along with other commodities used by the ag community."

The South Dakota State Fair is one of the nation's few remaining fairs to focus largely on agriculture. Other state fairs that once were agriculture-oriented now primarily consist of industrial and commercial exhibits.

Ivan Loesch of Huron, a history buff and president of the Heartland Historical Society, said many things about the fair have changed over the decades but agriculture continues as its centerpiece. Kansas has the only other State Fair that truly revolves around agriculture, he said.

"The South Dakota State Fair was meant to be an educational and agricultural fair," Loesch said.

"That is its purpose and heritage, and I think the state has to realize this. I personally believe that the state owes the fair the same type of involvement like it does the state universities. This is a state institution. It should not be an orphan."

Flagging finances have caused the State Fair to seek state funding several times in the past decade, prompting a running debate on the issue of state support for the fair.

Former Gov. Bill Janklow suggested publicly in 1997 that the city of Huron should take over the State Fair. Janklow said he had begged local officials for years to accept the fair, offering to give them the fairgrounds.

Rounds said the fair doesn't lose money during the annual event, but the financial picture becomes cloudy the rest of the year.

"When you figure in the fact that we maintain those facilities year-round, that's when you start looking at whether or not the operation at that location is break-even, and it clearly is not," the governor said. "I believe we need to change the schedule of the fair to bring more people in. Gate attendance has to go up.

"Perhaps the fair period should be shorter, and it should end on Labor Day or the day after. It should be intense and active, and then everybody should be ready to go home."