About McDowell County Fair

The McDowell County Fair in Welch celebrates one of Appalachia's most poignant counties — once called "the billion dollar coalfield," McDowell County's population peaked at 100,000 in the 1950s and has fallen below 20,000 as coal declined, yet the community's pride, resilience, and cultural heritage of southern WV mining families sustains a fair in one of America's most economically challenged counties.

What to Expect

Expect livestock shows, 4-H competitions, local food vendors with southern WV coal camp cooking traditions, and a fair celebrating the extraordinary heritage of the most iconic Appalachian coalfield county.

Visitor Tips

Welch's courthouse square and the surrounding coalfield towns preserve the architectural and cultural heritage of the boom years. The Equal Justice Initiative and other organizations working in the county reflect growing national attention to economic renewal in the southern WV coalfields.

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