Moving back downtown -- trivia for local history buffs

From Corvallis Farmers Market - Wednesday — Blog by Corvallis Farmers' Market - Wednesday

February 18, 2009

This could be a great question for a hypothetical Corvallis trivia game: Where was the first Corvallis Farmers’ Market?

The first farmers’ market in Corvallis began in 1981 in the parking lot of the fire station downtown.

Perhaps the fire alarms drove the farmers further south, because the next three seasons were spent in the vicinity of 2nd and B streets. The south downtown neighborhood was not as hopping as it is today. The market entered a peripatetic phase in various commercial sites near 9th Street and finally achieved a measure of stability when it moved to the Benton County Fairgrounds in the late 1980s.

The Oak Grove at the fairgrounds is a beautiful place where farmers and customers enjoyed spending their Wednesday mornings. But each year it seemed like fewer and fewer people could work into their schedules a mid-week morning market that is not close to workplaces, schools or shopping.

We’ve spent the last few years examining every good-sized piece of flat ground in Corvallis. In the end, we chose 2nd and B, which is now a city parking lot just north of the skateboard park. The Saturday market used it as a temporary spot in 2002, and it was well-liked.

Families where both adults are working should find our new downtown location and afternoon-evening hours easier to accommodate. We hope those who are picking up kids from school and running errands also will be able to stop by.

The new hours are 3-7 p.m. (3-6 p.m. in November. Opening day is April 22, 2009, which just happens to be Earth Day. See you there!