The Kiwanis Club of Statesboro, chartered in 1960 after an organizational meeting at Mrs. Bryant’s Kitchen on February 29, 1960, soon became a force in community projects and agricultural fairs. Its first major project in 1961 was a matching contribution of $3807 to Georgia Southern College that triggered matching federal scholarship funds of $34,259, with numerous club members personally guaranteeing a bank note that was repaid in 1963 from proceeds of the first Ogeechee Fair. The club held agricultural fairs in 1963 and 1964 on open lots on Stockyard Road as fundraisers, then after torrential rains nearly ruined the 1964 fair, it bought 28 acres on this site from John Rushing on November 7, 1964, for $20,156. Using their own labor and hand-held tools, club members built a 25,000 square foot exhibit building and two livestock sheds, and the first Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair there opened on October 11, 1965, with an address by Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge. A new livestock arena was dedicated in 1971 by Georgia Lt. Gov. Lester Maddox, and by 1973 the club had turned toward preserving local agricultural history and crafts through a Heritage Village. The Aldrich House, a log-framed dwelling built in 1886 on Harville road, was moved to the fairground in 1975 as the historical centerpiece, and in 1990 the Kiwanis Community Building was added. Through activities ranging from syrup boiling and pancake flipping to midway rides, the fairgrounds have linked preservation of local memories with family traditions across generations.