Mon County Fair opens first barn at new home; NextEra donates $25K toward construction
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dbeard@dominionpost.com
MORGANTOWN - The Monongalia County Fair opened its 2026 Youth Livestock Auction Saturday afternoon with a brief ceremony to celebrate the construction and opening of the first building at its new permanent home.
The building will serve as one of the livestock barns. The fair announced that it has been named the Kent Saul Center, for longtime Clay-Battelle High School agriculture teacher Kent Saul, who recently retired after 30 years and has been known as a mentor, role model and champion for young people.
And NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic presented a $25,000 check to go toward completion of the barn.
The fair’s new home is at 72 Adena Drive, just off W.Va. 7 and Walnut Hill Road near Cassville. It’s been at Mylan Park since 2010 and will open at its new site for the Sept. 9-13 fiar this year.
Jennifer Turner, the fair’s livestock chair, and outdoor chair, said the fair has been in existence for more than 170 years. "We’ve been kind of moving from place to place, but the fair never had a home."
The fiar board started talking with Core Natural Resources several months ago, shje said, and everything was finalized in February. Core deeded the 62 acres to the fair.
This livestock barn is just the beginning. "We have large visions for the future," she said.
They are working with engineering firms to get those visions down on paper. "We’ve had some wonderful support from local organizations." The Antero Foundation donated the funds to put in water and electricity. The youth saved money in a Barn Fund to build this building. "Rural King has been a wonderful donor."
She waved her arm toward the barn site. "Less than 30 days ago this was grass. ... We have had a ton of community support in building this and we are only excited for what is to come."
NextEra’s $25,000 donation will go to put in a concrete floor and garage doors after the fair, Turner
"We are really excited with this area," she said. The currently empty fields will soon see a rodeo, carnival, and motorsports at a temporary site. Land near the entrance will become the permanent motorsports arena."
The 30-by-80-foot Kent Saul Center is phase one of the barn complex. It will ultimately house lambs and goats. Phase two is a large center show and sell building that will also house hogs. And at the other end will be another 30-by-80 barn for cattle.
And for those fair staples such as jams and jellies and flowers and photography and more, an arts building is planned for the future, she said.
Kaitlin McCormick, NextEra project execution team senior director, said, "We’re proud here to help support the Fair Association, to support the empowerment of youth in the community here, the rich agricultural tradition, and to help provide a space for the community to gather for many many years to come."
Two Mon County legislators joined the ceremony: Sen. Mike Oliverio and Delegate Joe Statler.
Before the ceremony, Oliverio explained that they asked NextEra if they’d be willing to help with the cost of the barn, and NextEra agreed to contribute the $25,000. They also have a request in with the governor’s office for $10,000 of state money.
And he hopes other businesses will follow NextEra’s lead, he said. "We appreciate any corporations that want to get involved and support the fair." This is a site to serve the county for many years to come.
He acknowledged that some legislators have had concerns about NextEra’s proposed MidAtlantic Resiliency Link transmission line.
It’s a Public Service Commission decision, he said. "If the Public Service Commission decides to approve it, I think it’s helpful for us to be in communication with the NextEra folks and work things out the best that can possibly be done."
And during the ceremony he repeated his thanks to Next Era for its donation and challenged other companies to get involved.