One goal of the Fairgrounds Heritage Foundation is developing a permanent fairgrounds history museum in the State House located on the fairgrounds’ property. We hope to raise the funds necessary to restore the State House to its original use: a history museum and an accurate replica of the 1849 California State House. The State House was built in 1949 to commemorate the centennial celebration of San Jose as the State Capitol. The building was moved in 1950 from downtown San Jose to the fairgrounds. For many years it served as the location of a history museum founded by Clyde Arbuckle. The history of San Jose and Santa Clara County was on display. Elementary schools regularly scheduled field trips so young residents could learn about our local history. During fair time, the museum was open and became a regular stop for fair attendees. The building had varied uses after the museum collection was moved to History Park in the 1980’s. It’s time to bring the State House back to its roots as a history museum.

Look for future news about renovating the State House to restore it to its former glory and installing the fairground’s archives and memorabilia within its historic walls.

Become a Heritage Ambassador

We are looking for volunteers to help grow our collection and knowledge of the fairground’s history. Interested in doing research to find additional information about the fairground’s history? Are you a ‘behind the scenes’ volunteer and want to help archive the items and stories by learning how to use the museum quality software? We are looking for passionate fairgrounds supporters who want to help preserve our history. If you are interested, please send us an email.