Farmers' Markets

Black and white photo of a vendor selling beets at Cleveland's West Side Market, 1947. — Vendor selling beets at Cleveland's West Side Market, 1947.
Courtesy/Cleveland Press Collection

Nineteenth-century improvements in transportation allowed Cuyahoga Valley farmers to take advantage of markets in Cleveland and Akron. Before the canal was completed in 1827, farmers had to take their produce by wagon to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River to be shipped to larger markets. Often, a farmer's produce would spoil on the way to Cleveland, left on shore waiting for a delayed boat. With the canal and later the railroad (in use by 1852), farmers could more easily ship products and buy machinery. For example, dairy farmers could ship milk and cheese to the growing consumer markets with less risk of spoilage.

From the 1840s onward, many regional farmers traveled to Cleveland's West Side Market to sell their products. The city contained additional markets in operation during the 19th and 20th centuries, including the Central Market (later the New Central Market), and the Sheriff Street Market. The farmers' market in Akron operated on Beaver Street from the 1920s through the 1970s.

White tents and boxes of produce lined up at a farmers' market. — Cuyahoga Valley Farmers Market at Howe Meadow.
© Denny Reiser

Modern farmers currently take advantage of the increasing popularity of farmers' markets, both in and outside of the Cuyahoga Valley. To prepare for the market, farming families work hard to pick and polish fruits and vegetables for sale. On market day, farmers get up early, drive their products to market, and interact with crowds of customers. Farmers' markets also offer exciting venues for farmers to exchange ideas, and for customers to support local and healthy foods.

Click to learn more information about Cuyahoga Valley Farmers Markets and how farmers prepare to sell their products.

Cleveland Markets

2011 Oral History Project: Irene Kusnyer, who grew up on the Szalay farm in Everett, describes how her relatives spent long hours travelling to the Cleveland markets, waking up at 2 a.m. and returning later that night.

Credit / Author:

Irene Kusnyer

Audio Transcript

“Work days, well they were as long as that they needed 'em. I mean, because they had to pack the corn, load the corn, and then they took it in to Cleveland to the market there. And then they had to be up at two in the morning to take all this stuff to the markets. Then by the time they'd come back, it would be about eight o'clock, seven/eight o'clock, where they'd sold it all and everybody come home so it was time to eat breakfast, maybe, if they had time, and they were back out in the field.”

Farmer’s Market in Akron

2011 Oral History Project: Lee Darst, who worked with her father on the Bender Farm in Northampton from the 1950s through the 1970s, shares her memories about the farmers' market in Akron.

Credit / Author:

Lee Darst

Audio Transcript

“Every farmer had their own little stall that they rented every year and Bender's had one. If we got a surplus of tomatoes or whatever vegetable, we would truck it on in there. You get there about two-thirty, three o'clock in the morning and you go in and sit. All these men. . . I remember kinda being a scared little girl when I was first offered to go to farmer's market. We sat at the big counter and ate breakfast with all these guys and, you know, they're all doing their farm talk and by four o'clock, five o'clock then the groceries in the area came in to buy directly from the farmers. So that was a part of the truck farming business.”