byContributor
CHARLOTTE HALL, Md. – I like to define placekeeping as not only maintaining and caring for a physical space but also maintaining a place’s cultural and historical significance. Those who live in the Southern Maryland area are likely aware of the recent decision to destroy the Southern Maryland Farmers Market located in Charlotte Hall. Located on Three Notch Road and nestled between the Hooks and Hangers thrift store and the new veteran’s clinic, the Southern Maryland Farmers Market has been a local landmark in the community for decades. The iconic farmers market used to be the site of auctions, but in recent years it has bloomed into a lively yet slightly dusty local staple of the community, home to many different vendors, including local farmers, many of them members of the Latinx and Amish communities, business owners, antique collectors, artisans, and many others. In recent months, we have also seen McKay’s make way for Shoppers, only to be met with little business amid its high prices.
I remember when I was a child, I would accompany my whole family to the Southern Maryland farmers market during the late spring and throughout the summer to get our favorites, sweet corn, squash, and tomatoes. We would also stop by the Amish vendors for their local honey and cinnamon buns.
The pattern we see here in Charlotte Hall is representative of a larger, more harmful system and pattern at play. Pushing out local farmers and vendors to make way for large corporations is not only capitalism at its finest, but it also creates a culture of reliance. Relying on yet another multi-million-dollar and sometimes multi-billion-dollar corporation to provide us with products and necessities we previously got from local business owners. In times like these, it’s important to go the extra mile, literally and figuratively, to support our local businesses and local agriculture. It is better for the planet, and it puts money back into the pockets of those who actually care about the community, not the corporations that don’t.
It is time we put a stop to destroying local businesses just to make room for another unnecessary corporation like Chick-fil-A or Aldi. Charlotte Hall already hosts several fast-food chains, including a newly built Chipotle, two grocery stores, and several gas stations, with much more on the way. Locals apart of the St. Mary’s County Times Newspaper Facebook group have been voicing their opinions about the leveling of the beloved farmers market. For instance, Priscilla A L Walker says, “St. Mary’s will never be the same…” Mark Boswell states, “The farmers market is a Southern Maryland institution, tradition… it’s one of the things that makes St. Mary’s County unique.” Lastly, Brandi Cooper aptly sums up the loss of the Southern Maryland Farmers Market by saying, “We need to stop tearing everything down that has history and meaning to St. Mary’s or we are going to forget where we came from…”
When will the excessive development end? When Charlotte Hall looks exactly like Lexington Park or Waldorf? When will we start saying no? When will we start holding our county commissioners and economic development departments accountable for erasing the culture of Charlotte Hall? Let’s recognize this decision for what it is, another fracture in the beautiful history and community of Charlotte Hall, Maryland.
Placekeeping doesn’t have to mean resisting change to a physical space close to our hearts, it can also mean adapting to change. Vendors such as Southern Maryland Produce have already set up shop directly across the street from the farmer’s market. This gives me hope that other vendors will find another place close by to continue selling their goods to the local community, as they have for decades in the past.
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38 Comments
Prince Frederick is becoming the same as Waldorf too…
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I think you forgot to mention the bootleg DVD’s and CD’s, knock-off clothing and accessories, stolen items, and the occasional drug deal…
Sad to see this go, but you can still go to the farms directly.Reply
Pitbulls and Parollees!
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People keep calling this a farmers market which as you stated is a wrong title. It has not been an Amish market landmark for a long time. Nothing but crapas you stated. Luckily the produce people moved across the street. Sorry that some of the legit businesses in the brick buildings had to go but blame the owner for letting it become what it has become these last 15 years. Your delegate and Senator didn’t determine what vendors went in there or what they sold. A survey was done and the majority of people who lived nearby wanted it gone. The only people who voted it to stay didn’t live nearby at all.There were public hearings and planning board meetings you could have attended to voice your opinions but there were very few that showed up. If you care get involved ! !
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Very sad that current political controls only allow large businesses to thrive. I guess it’s easier for the mob to collect “protection” money from a few dozen large businesses than from a thousand small ones.
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Just remember, the politicians you elected accepted incentives to allow big businesses that we don’t need to push out the small businesses we love. Campaign donations, friend/family employment opportunities, future business deal support. A bribe is a bribe.
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Correct. Delegate Matt Morgan, a Real Estate agent did nothing to stop this. I will remember to vote against him!
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try going after the county commissioners and the planning commission board, they are the cause.
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The appeals board doesn’t care. To them, as long as it’s not apartments (god forbid people need a place to live) they will approve it. Part of the reason the county hasn’t put in water and sewer in the. north end- they can then control what gets approval. But, the people of this county keep voting in the same white guys over and over, and we don’t have fair representation on our County Commissioners. So, we can complain all we want- until we change our elected officials, we get what we get.
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AGREE! When you vote make it count!
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This editorial is doing too much. Breathe before you hyperventilate. The world moves on and that flea market was a sh*thole blight, same as the nearby no-tell motel that was also demolished.
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I’m in my early 50s and all my life the Farmers Market has existed in Charlotte Hall going there on Saturdays was a staple in my life, sad to see it go
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Same here as I can remember it since the 70s
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This dump of a flea market is what you consider a landmark?
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I order everything from Amazon, I order my groceries online and have them delivered, people are crazy and I refuse to be around anyone, it’s much safer that way
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A great commentary.
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What’s the two grocery stores? Food Lion and what?
Don’t abuse your media privileges by exaggerating, it makes you look weak. Report the facts and don’t lie by omission.Reply
VanGuard StateStreet and what the other 1? StateStreet Vanguard and whats the other 1?
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The immigrants and the entitled population ruined that place
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I blame Delegate Matt Morgan. This is his area!
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That dump should’ve been gone decades ago. It created car accidents, traffic congestion, And the only thing worth buying was the produce, everything else was junk.
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Sad St Mary’s is giving in. It’s not the people. It’s the County Commissioners. The ones we elected going against what we want. Make better choices St. Marys, or we will end up Waldorf . Is it worth it? Stop voting in people who don’t respect the county. We are loosing the best thing St Mary’s has. The old way and laid back chill is going away. We are becoming Waldorf. STOP IT. Do I need to run for County Commissioner?
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@Dennis D. Adkins
Get your name on the ballot, Dennis… I’ll vote for you!Reply
ALL BIG BUSINESS REPUBLICANS. SAD.
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Yes it is very sad! Iv been coming to the farmers market since I was little, I wanted to go take some last pictures there before they destroyed it but it was too late 🙁 I’m going to miss it very much
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I live in Mechanicsville (Golden Beach area) for about 3 years now with my wife and son. My wife and I are very sad to see the destruction of the farmers market 😢, St. Mary’s landing giving up ownership for money. I am originally from Levittown, NY and even when I left there at 19 to join the US ARMY, everything has changed, industry and our corrupt government seems to be the one that has the power to destroy our history and become commercialized. We as people need to stand our ground on keeping what we remember. There is no future for our children and their children.
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Problem is people don’t let the big corporations fail. Lazy, obese Americans need to stop going to chic-fil-a and they will stop popping up every half mile.
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There is so much more to this story that isn’t being told. The Farmers market could have remained if someone had the money to buy the land from the family who inherited it. That did not happen.
Also many of the antiques dealers have moved to the old Hillside school which has been converted to a lovely shopping experience. Check it out and you can support and shop localReply
Best way to prevent it, is to not patronize these large corporations. Buy local and American made. And put the people who share these values in the right positions. Many outsiders in leadership can’t appreciate what they have not experienced.
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Get over it
Place wasn’t cleaned and stuff was crapReply
Good riddance. What a dump of a flea market, if you can call it that…
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My family and I moved to Southern Maryland because it was one of the last green areas on the map with good schools and family values that are still the America my wife and I grew up in. We didn’t want to be near the city where democratic run areas are overwhelmed with crime and congestion. DONT TURN THIS AREA TO P.G. COUNTY! STOP BUILDING UP, LEAVE THIS AREA ALONE!
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MATT MORGAN?!??! ARE YOU LISTEBNING TO THIS?? Oh, no.. he doesn’t care about SOMD.
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Farmers Market was a tourists attraction too. Never thought this would happen. One less thing to do in St Mary’s
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Del Matt Morgan could have made this for the better. Why doesn’t he answer calls??
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What about Senator Bailey? If you are blaming Matt Morgan then you should also be blaming him.
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No matter where we live, we gotta keep tabs on what our local officials are deciding ON OUR BEHALF, and head off unwanted development. Preserve what makes SOMD unique!
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The loss of a shady farmers market. I remember years ago the puppies from that the Amish would sell. They are know fur their puppy mills.
Funny how the Baynet reported their counterfeit problems and now it’s a “landmark”https://thebaynet.com/88000-in-counterfeit-merchandise-seized-at-market-raid-html/
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