Happy families, fresh produce, and friendly interactions are some of the many things that one can find at Kitchener – Waterloo Region’s renowned St. Jacob’s Farmer’s Market. Located south of King St N and east of Weber St N, it was a popular market for residents in St. Jacobs and other communities located in the KW region; however, on September 2, 2013, the market suffered a great blow. Early in the morning, the building burned down and damages are estimated at 2 million dollars, causing panic to both the shop owners and communities who frequent the friendly market on a regular basis.
The market was opened by 8 individuals in April 1975 by merging two stockyards together. By the later 1970’s, preparations were made to construct a two story 2,200 square metre building, made of the best Douglas fir beams that British Columbia had to offer. The market consisted of the Peddler’s Village building for the flea market and some food vendors, and other buildings housing a single retailer with up to 150 vendors set up shop from Spring to Autumn. The two-story building that started to burn down was part of the original construction and was owned by the Mercedes till this day.
On September 2, 2013, the call came in at 1:49 A.M that the market was burning. The fire started in the main barn, and thankfully it did not spread to its other surroundings; however, it was no small fire. It took 45 brave firefighters located around the building to control the blaze and stop it from getting out of control, but it was so huge that the fire was still blazing until 6:00 A.M that morning. After it had been put out, nothing remained of what was once a famous landmark in the KW region.
All hope is not lost; there is a always silver lining. As long as there are things to sell and a location, there will still be a market but with more than 60 vendors affected by the fire, some are still bound to go out of business. Currently, the neighbor who lives across from the marketplace has offered the vendors some of her space to reopen the market during the interim. Fortunately, it has been decided that the market was a landmark in the KW Region and will, in someway or another, be re-opened so future generations can enjoy what the market has to offer as well.
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