By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Just as the Rose Bowl is the granddaddy of all college football bowl games, the Findlay Market in Cincinnati is the grandfather of all farm markets in Ohio.

Findlay Market, built in 1852, is Ohio’s oldest continuously operated public market and one of Cincinnati’s most cherished institutions. This market, located just blocks from downtown Cincinnati in Over-the-Rhine, is within a dense neighborhood rich in 19th century architecture.

Held every Tuesday-Sunday, Findlay Market is home year-round to 24 indoor merchants selling meat, fish, poultry, produce, flowers, cheese, deli and ethnic foods. On Tuesday, Saturdays and Sundays from April-November the market hosts a thriving market, with dozens of outdoor vendors from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

“The demand outnumbers the supply, so we’re always looking for various food growers,” said Robert Pickford, president and CEO of the Corp. for Findlay Market (CFFM). “Last year we had roughly 600,000 visitors to our market.”

Findlay is the only surviving municipal market house of the nine public markets operating in Cincinnati in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The market house is built on land donated to the city by the estate of General James Findlay (for whom the city of Findlay is named) who, in 1793, opened a log store near the Ohio River and became quite prosperous.

Findlay became mayor in Cincinnati in 1805 and commanded a regiment during the War of 1812. With profits from his mercantile business, he purchased considerable acreage just north of the Ohio River and in 1833 he designated an open area for a market. His estate eventually donated the market space to the city. Today that market bears his name.

“During the 18th and 19th centuries, public markets were a primary source of perishable food for residents of America’s growing, densely populated cities,” Pickford said. “Many cities, including Cincinnati, built and operated large municipal markets that housed butchers and fish sellers and attracted farmers and produce vendors to surrounding streets. Cincinnati operated nine public markets at the start of the Civil War.”

Findlay Market had competition from eight other markets in Cincinnati at the time: Fifth Street Market, built in 1829; Wade Street Market, 1848; Canal Market, 1829; Court Street Market, 1864; Jabez Elliott Flower Market, 1890; Sixth Street Market, 1895; Pearl Street Market, 1901; and Farmers Wholesale Market, 1926).
Findlay Market survived because it was located near the densely populated Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. The others were not as fortunate. They closed as people moved away from downtown Cincinnati, new neighborhood business districts emerged in the suburbs, refrigeration arrived in the home and the automobile altered lifestyles and the shape of the city itself.

Public health concerns about the market – a pavilion open to the elements and increasing pollution – prompted enclosure of the market house and the addition of plumbing and refrigeration. Merchants had previously used cool storage in deep cellars beneath nearby breweries.

Historical markets dot the market landscape to tell this story of survival. The market house tower bell, rung at the start of each market day, was brought from the Pearl Street Market that was torn down in 1934.

The CFFM is a private nonprofit corporation founded in 2001 to manage Findlay Market following its recent renovation. The city of Cincinnati continues to provide operating funds but eventually the market will support itself with revenue from operations. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees comprised of community leaders and market vendors.

Published on Sept. 30, 2009