The Jefferson Area Chamber of Commerce, along with numerous volunteers who care for our community and continuing tradition, have generously stepped forward to give festival goers an event they can be proud of and look forward to year after year!

The first Mint Festival was held in 1957. The Lions Club, which was chartered in 1951, wanted to create a festival to celebrate the abundance of mint being farmed in this area. This idea gave the City of Jefferson the distinction of being named the “Mint Capital of the World.”

In 1958, as “gimmick” to draw a crowd, Lions Club member Monte Weddle came up with the idea to have a frog jump. The frog jump was modeled after the famous frog jump in Angels Camp, of Calavaras County California. Rules were obtained and revised to fit Jefferson’s needs and Mr. Weddle served as the announcer for the frog jump for the next 25 years.

A princess court has been a long standing tradition. In the past, prospective princesses applied to serve as members of the court. The four or five girls that were selected would work tirelessly to sell tickets as a fundraiser for the festival. The top ticket seller was named “Queen of the Court”.

This Royal tradition continues but with a new change. In 2006, a decision was made to include princely presence to the court. The Royal Princes and Princess’ duties include traveling to other nearby festivals’ parades to represent Jefferson and its Mint Festival.

In the past, the Jefferson Mint Festival included a parade, a dance, quilt show, horse shoe tournaments, and a market place with food, crafts, rides and game booths. This tradition continues with the addition of new activities such as the pancake feed put on by the Jefferson Fire Department and a classic car show.


The Lions Club sponsored the Mint Festival from 1954 to 1987. The Jefferson Community Service organization chaired the festival from 1988-1991 with the Lions Club taking over again from 1992-1995. Since 2002, the Greater Jefferson Improvement Association (renamed Jefferson Area Chamber of Commerce in 2005) has sponsored the event.