--- title: Iowa State Fair: See Photos of Butter Sculptures and Rides in 1955 description: A look back at the Iowa State Fair, which begins this year on Aug. 13, with a LIFE photo essay from 1955 featuring cows sculpted from butter canonical: https://time.com/3982936/iowa-state-fair-photos/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-12T12:00:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:02:11.654Z og:title: See Vintage Photos of Butter Sculptures and Carnival Rides at the Iowa State Fair og:description: A look back at the Iowa State Fair, which begins this year on Aug. 13, with a LIFE photo essay from 1955 featuring cows sculpted from butter og:url: https://time.com/3982936/iowa-state-fair-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt153329b2996c6635/69885dad196cf479f803762e/150803-iowa-state-fair-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Iowa State Fair 1955 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Vintage Photos of Butter Sculptures and Carnival Rides at the Iowa State Fair twitter:description: A look back at the Iowa State Fair, which begins this year on Aug. 13, with a LIFE photo essay from 1955 featuring cows sculpted from butter twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt153329b2996c6635/69885dad196cf479f803762e/150803-iowa-state-fair-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Vintage Photos of Butter Sculptures and Carnival Rides at the Iowa State Fair  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Aug 12, 2015 12:00 PM UTC  A neon sign lights up the entrance to the Iowa State Fair, 1955. A neon sign lights up the entrance to the Iowa State Fair, 1955.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Aug 12, 2015 12:00 PM UTC The Iowa State Fair, which begins on Thursday and runs through Aug. 23, is one of the oldest and most storied state fairs in the country. It is a shining display of the state’s heartland agriculture, with 600-lb. butter-sculpted cows, rows of gleaming yellow corn and livestock judged on the basis of shoulder height, stride length and “[attractive rib design](http://www.ans.iastate.edu/clubs/judging/livestock/Basicsppt.pdf).” LIFE photographer John Dominis attended the fair in its 101st year, 1955, and captured much of what today’s attendees would see too—save for some wardrobe updates. The excitement contained within his Technicolor images was encapsulated by the observation one young visitor made that year. “Except for Christmas,” he said, “it’s the most important thing that happens all year.” _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  A neon sign lights up the entrance to the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Patrons trade stories at Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Patrons get silly photos taken at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Patrons walk under a sign for the "2 Headed Cow" exhibit at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Thrill-seekers enjoy a ride at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Children observe a small monkey doing tricks at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sheep handlers show their sheep to judges at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Exhausted handlers, after a long day of grooming these fine Ayrshire cattle, sleep on cots beside their entries on the night before the stock judging. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A handler and his sheep at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Butter sculpture in refrigerated case draws admiring stares from visitors who are invited to compete for prices by guessing weight of the butter. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Young men set up a booth promoting vocational agricultural training at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Women work in the jams and jellies display at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Vigorous vegetables, awarded first prize in the individual vegetable class, are artfully displaced in the Agricultural Building. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Horses are put to work at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Cars draw a crowd in a scene from the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Fairgoers watch a woman dance onstage at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A boy sits at a booth selling merchandise at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A tired child takes a nap in the shade at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A view of the carnival rides lit up at night at the Iowa State Fair, 1955. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3982936/iowa-state-fair-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3982936/iowa-state-fair-photos/"},"headline":"See Vintage Photos of Butter Sculptures and Carnival Rides at the Iowa State Fair","datePublished":"2015-08-12T12:00:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:11.654Z","description":"Prize sheep, corn aplenty and cows sculpted from butter","url":"https://time.com/3982936/iowa-state-fair-photos/","keywords":["Great Places","photography","LIFE Magazine","John Dominis","1955"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt153329b2996c6635/69885dad196cf479f803762e/150803-iowa-state-fair-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt153329b2996c6635/69885dad196cf479f803762e/150803-iowa-state-fair-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Iowa State Fair 1955","caption":"Iowa State Fair 1955","creditText":"John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/great-places/","name":"Great Places"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3982936/iowa-state-fair-photos/","name":"See Vintage Photos of Butter Sculptures and Carnival Rides at the Iowa State Fair"}}]}] ```