| Just past 10AM on a gray Sunday morning the Headhouse Farmer's Market was yawning awake, the White Lady peaches being propped primly on folding tables, sunflowers at sunny attention, turkey sausage sizzling in the centuries-old (and too-long-vacant) brick arcade that runs down the middle of Second Street at Lombard. In 1745 sheds were erected to allow merchants to congregate in a marketplace to see food and wares. George Washington often visited the then-called New Market to buy butter, eggs, meat,fish, herbs and vegetables. At the ends of the sheds were headhouses, which were fire wagon houses. The one at the south end of the Headhouse Market happens to be one of America's most venerable, built in the early 1800's. Each headhouse had alarm bells and a second-floor fireman's social hall. The shed between Lombard and Pine Streets, called the Shambles, was restored in the early 1960's. In the spring and summer, artisans in an open market sell handcrafts and tasty foods, baked goods and produce. The Headhouse Farmer's Market features about thirty farmers, ranchers and artisans selling a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers, meats, cheese and other dairy products from the local region. There are also fantastic seasonal baked goods, locally made ice cream and hot fudge, all-natural soaps and lotions and many other specialty items from the local area |
