Flood Disrupts Muskingum County Fair

ZANESVILLE, OH – Rain during fair week is one thing, but this morning, some parts of the Muskingum County Fair looked more like a pond than a fairground.

The fairgrounds were just one of several places across our coverage area dealing with flooding Thursday morning. At the fair, high water reached several areas, including near the campers, and forced officials to delay opening the gates until noon.

Inside a sheep barn, exhibitors had an early and unexpected job, grabbing buckets and working together to get the water out while making sure their animals were safe.

“I woke up to my mom yelling my name and then she yelled, we need to get to the barns they’re all completely flooded! There’s four inches of water in the barns.” Isaac, a Sheep Exhibitor, said.

“Everyone was grabbing buckets and dumping water into the drains.” Porter Stubbs, another Sheep Exhibitor said.

The flooding also forced the Open Sheep Show to be canceled.

“I am a little disappointed because I was really excited to do it.” Sheep Exhibitor, Quinnlyn Stubbs, said.

For the young exhibitors who spent time preparing for the show, it was a disappointing end to an event they had been looking forward to.

“I feel really bad because I spent the whole summer working with my lamb just for it to cancel.” Piper Heil, another Sheep Exhibitor said.

As the morning went on, water levels began to drop and cleanup continued across the fairgrounds. And despite the soggy start, the fair was able to reopen its gates at noon and continue fair week.