The fairgrounds were founded in 1923 by local businessman William R. Hayes, a horse breeder who established the Du Quoin State Fair as a counterpart to the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, which had banned gambling on horse races. By staging his event immediately after the Springfield fair closed — traditionally running through Labor Day weekend — Hayes avoided direct competition for visitors. The fair's proximity to southern Illinois audiences and its reputation for attracting prominent entertainers gave it an identity as Illinois' "little State Fair" or "second State Fair."
Hayes began with a half-mile harness-racing track and wooden grandstands seating approximately 3,000 spectators on a 30-acre site. From 1939 onward he acquired adjoining strip-mined land, reclaiming it as parkland by replanting the terrain and converting strip pits into family-friendly ponds and lakes. By the time the modern facility took shape, the grounds had grown to more than 1,200 acres.
The DuQuoin "Magic Mile" oval was constructed in 1946 on land that Hayes had reclaimed from strip mining. The track hosted its first national championship race in September 1948 under AAA sanction. Just one month later, on October 10, 1948, tragedy struck when popular AAA National driving champion Ted Horn was killed in the fourth turn after a spindle failure on his championship car. Horn had won the national championship three consecutive years and was among the most respected competitors of his era. In his memory, the national championship race for USAC Silver Crown dirt cars held at Du Quoin is conducted as a tribute to his legacy.
The facility operates as a clay dirt oval, a surface that demands distinctive car setups and driving technique compared to asphalt tracks. It has hosted racing under AAA, USAC, and ARCA sanctions across its long history, adapting to successive governing bodies while maintaining its identity as one of the premier dirt-mile venues in American open-wheel racing.
Beyond automobile racing, Du Quoin built a second distinguished chapter in harness racing. In 1957 the fairgrounds became the home of the Hambletonian Stakes, America's most prestigious standardbred trotting race, an event established in 1926. The move to Du Quoin brought significant investment to the grandstands and bleachers, expanding seating capacity to 18,000. The Hambletonian remained at Du Quoin for 24 years, departing after the 1980 edition when it relocated to the Meadowlands in New Jersey.
Following the Hambletonian's departure, Du Quoin became home to the World Trotting Derby, which ran at the fairgrounds from 1981 until the race was discontinued after 2009. Harness racing continued as a fan fixture at the grounds even after the marquee events moved on, with admission offered free of charge.
For most of its existence the Du Quoin State Fair operated as a private enterprise under Hayes family ownership. It was not formally incorporated as a true state fair under Illinois administration until the 1980s; it is now officially designated the Illinois State Fair in Du Quoin to distinguish it from the longstanding Springfield fair. The Du Quoin State Fairgrounds was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in July 1990, one of only two such designations in Perry County, alongside the historic Perry County Jail in Pinckneyville.
The infield and grandstand area at Du Quoin has long hosted music concerts, particularly during the state fair. The performance stage is positioned at the center of the infield at the foot of the grandstand, with the protective cyclone fence separating the audience from the racing surface serving as a backdrop. The combination of motorsport, harness racing, agricultural exhibition, and live entertainment has sustained the fairgrounds as a regional institution for more than a century.
Du Quoin represents a model of the multi-purpose American fairground that flourished through the mid-twentieth century — a facility that blended agricultural tradition with elite-level sport and popular entertainment. Its clay mile has shaped careers in open-wheel racing, provided a proving ground for generations of USAC competitors, and preserved the memory of Ted Horn through the annual Silver Crown event held in his name. As one of the few remaining active dirt miles on the American open-wheel calendar, the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack continues to occupy a distinct place in the national racing landscape.