First Monday Trade Day - Canton, Texas

 We had planned to go into Dallas today and do the First Monday Trade Day tomorrow but we found out that the George W. Bush Presidential Library would not be open.  I am assuming the reason is Covid.  We were going to the Kennedy sites but didn't think it would take more than a couple of hours so we are going to combine Dallas and Fort Worth in one day. . What to do with the extra day?  The answer was to spend two days at the Trade Day.  We are so glad that we decided to do that because First Monday Trade Day is like the Covered Bridge Festival on steroids!  It is BIG!  It is not doable in one day unless you want to leave things out.

First Monday Trade Day began in the 1850s when the circuit judge stopped in  Canton on the first Monday of each month to hold court, people from across the county and surrounding counties came to the Courthouse square to watch courthouse proceedings and take care of business.  This is what people did for excitement in the 1850s when there was no television, internet, etc.  Many people also brought things to sell or trade because of the large number of people who would be there on that day.  By 1965 First Monday Trade Day had outgrown the Courthouse square so the city of Canton purchased six acres two blocks from the Courthouse and the sale moved off the square.  Over the years it has grown and grown to include Thursday-Sunday and not Monday as trade days and is open year round, rain or shine but the name First Monday Trade Day has stuck.  It is advertised as the largest flea market in the world and from our experience today, I would agree.

The press of humanity can be seen in The Arbors.  This building is only one of several more buildings

 each one just as packed.  There are many similarities to the Covered Bridge Festival in that we saw the same types of merchandise and kettle corn.  There were other things that were new to us like booths selling handcrafted furniture and accessories for firearms.  There were several food courts.

We saw lots of people using these types of transportation.  I know that some people needed to ride one due to physical needs; but I think a lot of people used them to be able to shop all day in this huge flea market.  We saw several places renting them and some selling them.  It can't be seen in this picture; but one of these carts is a two-seater.  Carol and I could have brought one and both of us could ride around the market on it.  I don't know the price but I am sure it wouldn't be in our budget!  I also think that some people need a quick driving course.  

It is hard to see but this is a map of the grounds, but we only got through half of the top page.

This park has two resident swans.

 

This porch is at the back of the office and shower/restroom building.  It is pleasant to sit in these rocking chairs and eat ice cream (which we  did today).

A view of the campground taken from the porch.  We were talking to an employee here and she told us that the cold snap that Texas had last winter killed 70 trees in the park.  We saw the roots of trees at our site so I guess that is why most of the sites only have the roots and not the trees.

For the last two evenings we have enjoyed sitting outside in the evening.  We have been able to turn off the air conditioner.  The camper stays cool enough without it.  Rain had been in the forecast for today, but we didn't get any....yeah!  Tomorrow we will return to Canton and try to finish it out but I am sure we won't be able to see it all.