Trophy:An Official Miss America Pageant 1962: 1962 Miss Marion County Fair Queen, First Place Winner, Hills

The first Miss America pageant took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1921. Initially part of a promotional effort to keep tourists attracted to that seaside resort beyond Labor Day, the pageant went on to inspire numerous other events for women and girls, celebrating beauty, talent, poise, and personality. These competitive endeavors attracted thousands of participants as well as even greater numbers of onlookers in the audience, although television viewersip of the Miss America pageant peaked in the 1960s.