ST. LOUIS — An important piece of 1904 World's Fair history has been donated to the Missouri History Museum.
It's a handwritten account from Adele Quinette, a young woman who attended the fair. Adele Quinette was 16 years old at the time, and lived just a few blocks from Forest Park where the fair was held.
“We have not been offered a diary regarding the World’s Fair for more than 20 years,” said Missouri Historical Society archivist, Molly Kodner. “It’s pretty remarkable that there are still some out there to be donated. It demonstrates the significance of this diary to the family that they kept it and took good care of it for over 100 years.”
The journal is a 134-page, first-hand detailed account of her experiences.
It also contains photographs and other mementos.
Her grandchildren donated it to the museum.
They grew up hearing first-hand accounts of the fair.
Although the Missouri Historical Society is calling it a diary, they believe it may have been done as a school project. They said it contains lengthy descriptions of buildings and sights at the fair.
The Missouri Historical Society said they have a wide variety of documents, letters and postcards about the fair, but this is just the third diary specifically about the fair. The last diary was donated in 1996.
According to the Missouri History Museum, the fair welcomed 20 million visitors and featured widespread representation from 50 countries and 43 states.
The museum has an ongoing world's fair exhibit. For more information and to make reservations, visit the museum's website here.
