FARMINGTON – The fairgrounds were fairly quiet Friday except for the wing of the Red Schoolhouse moving in and volunteers working in the exhibition hall, barns and other booths.

Next week the sounds of animals, vendors, rides and other activities will be heard during the 166th annual exhibition of the Farmington Fair. It begins Sunday, Sept. 17, and runs through Saturday, Sept. 23.

Jimmy Adams and Don DeRoche, both of Farmington, were working on the second floor of the exhibition hall.

There are two new sturdy, exterior stairways leading from the second floor to the ground that will have dual use as fire escapes and entrances and exits.

Two of the stairways that had led from the first floor of the hall to the second floor are now closed in and provide extra space on both floors for more exhibits.

The 4-H displays will be downstairs this year.

DeRoche was setting up a display upstairs for the Red Schoolhouse. Though the school is expected to be on the grounds for the fair, there won’t be time to set up displays inside, he said.

So instead, he hung the last flag that flew at the one-room school in 1958, a gift from the Nottage family, on the wall of the exhibit hall. Plus there’s lots of pictures and other memorabilia there.

The school was built in 1852 on Wilton Road and closed in 1958.

“I went to the Red Schoolhouse in 1940, 1941 and 1942,” DeRoche said. “I have good memories.”

A print of the schoolhouse by the late Robert Tyler will be raffled to raise money for the project.

DeRoche said he’ll also have antiques and Maine Central Railroad train memorabilia at the booth.

Adams was finishing an enclosure for a new fire-safe door that will eventually be set at the top of the stairs at the hall.

Adams, a lifelong member of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, said he enjoys helping get the hall ready for opening day.

Among other new attractions this year is a sap house built between the agricultural museum and where the schoolhouse will be set up near the Maple Avenue entrance.

Family tickets for the fair will be on sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, and Saturday, Sept. 16, at the secretary’s office on the fairgrounds. Renewal tickets are $35 and new members are $70. The ticket covers the member, spouse and children under 18 years old.

Art, fancy work, canned goods, painting, photography and other entries will be taken in the exhibition hall from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15 and 16, before the fair opens at 9 a.m. Sunday. The exhibition hall will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily during the fair.