Niagara Falls City Market

The Niagara Falls City Market was established in 1893. Back then, local farmers brought their produce to market by horse and buggy. To set up shop, they “paid 15 cents per day for a two horse wagon and 10 cents per day for a one horse wagon.” 

The farmers were not always satisfied with market operations. When the market changed locations after thirteen years, they refused to vacate the original site and some were arrested. When the market moved again to the Pine Avenue neighborhood in 1913, the farmers eventually complained that their retail sales weren’t as good as their sales at the old market. 

Perhaps this is when they turned their attention to a group with considerable spending power: the women of Niagara Falls. When the farmers learned about women’s spending habits, they decided to keep the market open in the afternoon because that’s when women had more time to shop. Nearby retailers got wind of this and hoped “to be close enough to attract the housewife on her way to and from the market.”  In those days, most married women didn’t work outside the home.

During and after World War I, the farmers saw their retail sales skyrocket as women began shopping in droves at the market. These women and their husbands had recently moved to Niagara Falls and many built homes in the Pine Avenue neighborhood. The men had taken jobs in the new industries that were popping up all over the city. 

Women were the primary consumers in their households. They viewed shopping as an opportunity to meet other ‘housewives’ and have friendly chats with market vendors. On the way home, they shopped elsewhere in the neighborhood. Soon, new stores and restaurants started opening up in the area. 

In September 1946, the Niagara Gazette reported that a record 15,000 people crowded the market stalls and completely wiped out all 385 vendors. In the decades that followed, the market continued to thrive.

After World War II, the women who shopped at the market could be seen walking home with fresh produce “in large shopping bags, wagons or baby carriages.” Other women drove to the market from elsewhere in Niagara Falls. 

Although the market is no longer packed, farmers and other merchants hope that a recent USDA grant of over $245,000 will help revitalize the historic market.

In 2023, the market celebrated its 130th anniversary in Niagara Falls and its 110th anniversary in the Pine Avenue neighborhood. For International Women’s Day in March, they posted photos of various women on Facebook and stated that they were “Celebrating the strong women who sell and shop at the City Market.” 

Hope L. Russell, Ph.D.