[Archived] Alexandria’s Farmer’s Market Offers Produce, Art, and Tradition

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

Alexandria’s Farmer’s Market Offers
Produce, Art, and Tradition

The Alexandria Farmer’s Market, the oldest continually operating Farmer’s Markets in the country is open Saturdays year round at Market Square, 301 King St., from 5 to 10 am. Parking is free in the garage underneath Market Square during hours of the Farmer’s Market.

As old as the town itself, the market began in 1749 in the town's center and has always been central to the community's life. The first buildings consisted of small town houses, a small school and a court house when Alexandria became the Fairfax County seat in the 1750s. In the open space behind the buildings, militia troops drilled and horse and cattle sales were held. Stalls and market benches offered townspeople meat, poultry, eggs, butter, cheeses, fish, fruit, vegetables, bread, pastries, plants, flowers, and hand crafts. Market Square buildings multiplied with the building of a market house, a scale house, a fish house, fire companies, a militia arsenal, wood sheds, privies, and a jail, pillory, stocks, and whipping post. By 1871, the buildings were three storeys.

George Washington sent his produce from Mount Vernon to be sold at the Farmer’s Market. Today, the market offers Alexandrians a way to reconnect to the past, while participating in an ongoing local and national tradition. According to an 1876 edition of the Alexandria Gazette, some things have not change because “to sell it here you’ve got to grow it or make it at home.”

In the 1960s, Alexandria filled in the open center for town hall offices. However, the new, arcaded porches recall the traditional market house form which has continued for centuries. The Market House's steepled clock and bell tower, conspicuous from miles around, still mark the center of City life. The oldest in America, the Alexandria Market Continues.

For more information on the Farmer’s Market, call 703.838.5006.

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