Established in 1865 (for a fair begun in 1848), they are among the oldest and best-preserved fairgrounds in the state, featuring an oval racetrack and a variety of exhibition and midway buildings.

[1] The Franklin County Fairgrounds are located southwest of downtown Greenfield, across the Green River on a high plateau.

The oldest building in the complex is called The Roundhouse; it is a two-story circular structure that is 72 feet (22 m) in diameter.

[2] The Franklin County Fair was established in 1848, and originally took place near the Greenfield town center.

It was eventually crowded off that land by expansion of the town and the routing of the railroad across part of the grounds, and it moved further out in 1860.