Located in the heart of Downtown Columbia, a National Register Historic District, the Historic Farmer’s Market is located in the Market House.
The first Market House was built around 1814 and was divided into two sections. One section housed the market and the other section was used as a town hall and a school room.
Today’s Market House was built by Michael Liphart, took nearly a year to complete (September 17, 1869) and cost about $20,000. A Mr. Sloan prepared the floor plans and a Mr. Hobbs designed the facade. The Market House is 118 feet long, 80 feet wide. It was once furnished with 180 stalls inside the structure and 37 on the outside under a projecting roof. The outside stalls were removed many years ago. A special feature of the Market House is the Dungeon. It was originally used as a storage space for farmers but eventually became a prison to lock up vagrants and felons.
The Farmer’s Market is home to a large array of farm fresh produce, meats, cheeses, baked goods, candy and crafts.