One of the largest events of its kind in Texas, the Johnson County Pioneers and Old Settlers Reunion began in 1892 when local farmer and newspaper correspondent John James proposed the idea to some of his neighbors. After initial rejection, James and some fellow newspaper writers organized a picnic at Elm Grove in June 1893, where those in attendance voted to form an organization to oversee plans for an annual reunion. The first official reunion was held July 27-28, 1893, at Gathings Park northeast of Cleburne, with more than 2,000 people attending. Later reunions were held in Alvarado, Grandview, Venus, and Cleburne until the organization purchased land at this site for a permanent reunion campground. The first pavilion built there in 1906 was later destroyed in a tornado, and the second burned in 1965 before being replaced by a larger structure in 1966. Over the years, the reunion grew to attract more than ten thousand participants to carnivals, parades, queen, baby, and fiddle contests, and musical concerts, becoming one of the area's most significant cultural institutions.