About The Oldest Market In America
Lancaster Central Market was born in 1730 on a 120-square-foot plot of land
A market is defined as a regular gathering place for people to purchase and sell goods, food, livestock, and other commodities. The City of Lancaster, PA was designated as a market town in 1730.
Today, Lancaster is home to Lancaster Central Market, the oldest market of any kind in America. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) defines it as the oldest continuously operated public farmers market in the United States. The City of Lancaster describes it as the country’s oldest farmers’ market. The National Association of Produce Market Managers acknowledges it as the oldest continuously running public farmers’ market.
The 1889 Market House is the Romanesque Revival-style building that currently houses the Lancaster Central Market. More than 60 local vendors call the 1889 Market House home three days each week, when it opens its doors to welcome the surrounding community. A walk through its aisles will find an abundance of produce from the deeply nutrient-rich soils native to the local landscape.
The market offers an array of delicious prepared foods representing the proud cultural diversity of Lancaster county. It also offers a wide variety of locally sourced meat, poultry, cheeses, and much more.
Lancaster Central Market was born in 1730 on a 120-square-foot plot of land conveyed by Andrew and Ann Hamilton from their private estate. Here, farmers would cart their bounty from the surrounding fruitful land to the heart of the nearly settled municipality to sell their wares in the now-public, open field.
This early market was an important, encouraging factor in King George II designating Lancaster as a market town. And upon its official charter as a borough in 1742, the royal decree proclaimed Lancaster was to hold “two markets in each week … of the year forever in the lot of ground already agreed upon for that purpose and granted for that use.”
By 1757, the Lancaster Burgess erected the first official market building, though most likely just a simple, open-air structure with stalls and a roof. This arrangement continued to evolve through the years along with Lancaster, until finally being replaced in 1889 by the beautiful Market House that stands in Penn Square today.
Lancaster Central Market is open year-round on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 6AM to 3PM. Market is closed on holidays. In these cases market is held the day before the holiday. This oldest farmer's market building in the U.S. is located centrally in the heart of Lancaster City.
Since its inception in 2005, the Central Market Trust has embraced its role as good steward for Lancaster Central Market. A nonprofit organization comprised of citizen volunteers, current Stand holders, and City of Lancaster representatives, the Trust is dedicated to maintaining, preserving, and sharing the unique history of Market within an ever-growing community. The Lancaster Central Market was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
*Note: Several other markets claim to be the oldest market in America. But none are entirely accurate. The Easton Farmers Market located in Easton, PA (est. 1752) is the "oldest open-air market". The Brimfield Flea Market located in Brimfield, MA (est. 1959) is America's "oldest outdoor antique flea market". The Maine Avenue Fish Market located in Washington DC. (est. 1805) is the "oldest continuously operating fish market in the United States." However the Lancaster Central Market (est. 1730) is the oldest market of any kind in America.