Farmers’ Market played role in Square’s rejuvenation
Posted on Sunday, August 6, 2006
Street vendors might give the Fayetteville Farmers' Market a feeling of the past, but the old-fashioned concept is synonymous with the present-day vibrancy of downtown Fayetteville.
It has brought crowds to the Square since the 1970 s, when citizens launched a renovation effort to salvage the area. As one has grown, so has the other, and the initial market organizers still pride themselves on establishing something that has become a four times weekly event.
"I don't know exactly how much we had to do with it, but we like to think we had a part in saving the Square," said Marcella Thompson, market founder and former worker with the Equal Opportunity Agency of Washington County.
Agency workers in the 1970 s were studying both a fledgling Square and poor farmers in the county. Their research gave birth to the idea of a downtown market at which local farmers could sell their produce.
Thompson recalled fears that the market would equate to poor people lining the streets, but she said the concept moved forward after gaining support from the likes of John Lewis, who was leader of Downtown Fayetteville Limited and an executive with First National Bank.
The first few markets took place on an unpaved parking lot off Center Street. Accounts state that 10 booths made up the initial event. Thompson considered that figure generous.
Whatever the case, the market continued to operate and by its second year became self-sustaining, where it has remained ever since the agency provided start-up funds.
"This is an example of a little bit of tax money up front and something really, really wonderful happening," Thompson said. "It doesn't always work out that way, but if we hadn't tried back then, we wouldn't have this market today."
The market now incorporates close to 100 vendors from Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties selling produce, crafts and other items that must originate from the four counties.
Markets take place four times each week from April to October. Vendors set up on the Square on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and report to the Mill District off School Avenue each Thursday evening.
A its peak, the market has stands positioned completely around the Old Post Office on the Square and on both sides of East Avenue, and food vendors set up in the Fayetteville Town Center Plaza.
Southern Living magazine included the market among its "203 Favorite Shops"in the South in 2003, and market officials estimate they draw about 30, 000 visitors annually.
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