A One-of-a-Kind History

In the early '70s, there was talk amongst local farmers that Athens ought to have a farmers market. After setting up shop in metered spots on Court street to sell their goods, these local farmers were told by the city move elsewhere. John Millar, a district conservationist in Athens at the time, was put in charge with finding a suitable, permanent place for Athens' new farmers market. Many places were offered, including the county fairgrounds, but Millar and the others chose the East State Street Park and Recreation area. Bylaws were drafted, and it was decided, like many other farmers markets, that only producers of t

he products would be able to sell their goods at the market. 

With the official thumbs-up from Athens' mayor at the time, Donald Barrett, the market began selling its products to the surrounding community on "a summer day in 1972," according 

to the Athens Farmers Market Web site. The market was to be held Saturdays at 10 a.m. from April to Thanksgiving at the East State Street City Park, on a paved lot near the tennis courts. 

Ten years after the market first offered its produce to outsiders, it was moved to a new parking area that was closer to East State street. As the market grew in size and clout, more producers chose to sell their products through the once-weekly market (or twice, depending on what time of year you are going).

The market made a dra

stic change when in 1995 it was decided that the market should stay open year round. Also, the city passed a levy that would allow for the creation of a community center that would take up the space that was, at the time, being used to host the market. 

In 1998, the managers of the farmers market were allowed to relocate to the University Mall parking lot. The new location allowed for more producer stalls and wider aisles for customers to walk through. Also, it naturally allowed for more traffic flow because of the added space for customers to park their cars, which used to be a problem for the market at its previous location because the community center lacked adequate parking. 

In 2004, to boost attendance from campus and up-town residents, the city held a Sunday morning market downtown once a month. But with lackluster attendance, the promotional market was ended in after one year. 

In 2006, market managers outlined a plan to develop a permanent pavilion at which the market would be hosted weekly. The plans foiled, however, after the owners of University Mall pulled out of negotiations. According to AFM's Web site, the market was set to move back to its beginnings in the community center parking lot in 2008, but to this day the market continues to be held in the University Mall parking lot, serving the community from its home on East State street.

The preceding history was condensed from information on the Athens Farmers Market Web site. 

The two pictures are from Flickr. The first one is of some vegetables at the Farmers Market in Jackson, Miss., and it is by NatalieMaynor. The second photo is from the San Francisco Public Library's online photo archive. It depicts the San Francisco farmers market on its 10th anniversary in 1953.