The Dallas Farmers Market is a vast public market situated in Pearl Expressway in the Farmer’s Market District. Today, the Dallas Farmers Market has been divided into three sections, which has three kinds of sellers: wholesale dealers, produce dealers, as well as local farmers. Aside from these mainstay stores, the Dallas Farmers Market also hosts cooking classes, monthly yard sales, seasonal festivals, as well as workshops that take place throughout the year. There are also garden and floral vendors that are located next to the market.
Back then, the Dallas Farmers Market only showcase fresh farm produce such as poultry, meats, fruits, and vegetables. Today, you can now enjoy dining here as well because it has several eateries that offer a wide variety of cuisines such as Indian food, American food, Italian food, and Vietnamese food. Aside from that, there are also other specialty shops such as a beer and wine store, dry goods, and groceries.
Going to the Dallas Farmers Market is such a treat; that is why we are going to know more about it and its rich history.
History
During the late 1800s, Dallas started to grow in large part because it supported agriculture. Dallas slowly became like an incubator for the cotton industry, which is the most prominent crop in the region. Because of the burgeoning railroad system, cotton was moved in and out of Dallas in just a short period of time. Most of the cotton produced here in Dallas was processed by large gin mills, which was operated by Dallas merchants. However, when the railroad system started to grow, it created more stops at smaller remote areas, closer to farmers. This resulted in smaller mills popping up along train stops and eventually lowered the business from Dallas.
Because of the decline in cotton shipments as well as poor cotton crop, Dallas faced a problem in their economy. That is why the Commercial Club, an organization of well-known Dallas businessmen, started to look for different ways to increase and support shipping and importing different local farm products in order to keep the railroad cars full. The dealers on Pearl Street that were once shippers of cotton had to change their goods. They became sources of turkeys, chickens, nuts, eggs, vegetables, and fruits grown all around North Texas. By 1906, the business started to boom, and the total gross receipts of produce and poultry dealers totaled one million dollars.
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Horse-drawn wagons from small agricultural crop farms lined up in the city’s downtown. Some of them even came from as far as 150 miles away. Since then, the Dallas Farmers Market has grown with the city and eventually turned into a place where you can shop for farm-fresh vegetables, poultry, dairy, etc. In 1939, the Dallas Farmers Market site was expanded, and the first Shed was established. Two years later, it officially sanctioned as a municipality owned and operated market.
For several years, the economic development committee of the Dallas City Council has been talking with developers. And in 2013, they announced that they have plans for the mixed-use retail and residential redevelopment of the area. The plans include tearing down Sheds three and four and replacing them with retail space and 300 residential units. Shed 1 will be dedicated entirely to retail and a food pavilion.
