Collinsville Trade Day is a treasure hunter’s gold mine. The next time you’re in, or near, Collinsville, Alabama on a Saturday morning, be sure to stop by Collinsville Trade Day. You’ll love it! It’s open every Saturday, year round, hot or cold, rain or shine, (unless the Christmas holiday falls on a Saturday. In that case only, Trade Day would be held on Friday, Christmas Eve.)
When this outdoor market originally began in 1902, men would bring their horses and mules every Saturday, to downtown Collinsville, to trade and/or sell. It was originally known as Horse Swappers Day. Eventually, the men’s wives started participating by selling their handmade crafts and baked goods. But when the event outgrew the downtown area, and it became more of a hindrance than a blessing, city officials talked with Mrs. Myron Harris, a Collinsville citizen who owned a few acres of land, still within the Collinsville City Limits, but just not in the downtown area.
Current owners, Charles and Kathy Cook (Myron’s son), explained, “They told Mom that she had the perfect spot and asked if she’d like to have it, because they didn’t want it anymore. That was in 1955. When Mom took it, and cleared the land, the name changed to Collinsville Trade Day.”
Collinsville Trade Day has really grown over the years. The outdoor market that began on only 6 acres of land grew to 65 acres as surrounding parcels of land were purchased and added to the acreage of Collinsville Trade Day. Then in 1972, a neighboring land owner also opened up their 40 acres bringing the total acreage now available, to just over 100 acres. Approximately 1,300 vendors make up Collinsville Trade Day and up to 30,000 people might attend this outdoor market on any given good weather Saturday, with shoppers coming from 7 states to look for a bargain.
Charles recalled, “One funny story that we’ve enjoyed over the years was in 1972. A dental lab in Pell City (the place where everyone in this area went to get their false teeth) came up one Saturday and rented a booth with us. They wanted to sell their false teeth rejects. They literally had three foot tubs full of false teeth rejects. As people came through that day, they tried those teeth on all day with nothing to clean the teeth between customers. By the end of the day, every pair of false teeth was sold. Of course current dental laws wouldn’t allow that now. That just goes to show that anything and everything has been sold here.”
What can you find at Trade Day? Everything, including the proverbial kitchen sink! But just so you’ll have a general idea, here’s a list of items you might typically be able to find at Collinsville Trade Day: used merchandise, new antiques collectibles, fresh produce, handmade crafts, vintage glassware, pets, farm animals, farm equipment, T-shirts and a variety of other apparel, furniture, trees, shrubs, plants, iron works, tools, a great selection of vintage video games, CDs and DVDs, lawn furniture, statuary, cast-iron pots, pottery, baseball cards, Avon products, a variety of delicious food and refreshing drinks, and just about anything else you might want or need.
It’s no secret that shopping can really work up a thirst and/or appetite. If this happens to you, no worries! There is a total of 21 food booths onsite that offer a variety of delicious food and refreshing drinks. “You can find just about any kind of food you’re looking for,” Charles said. “Breakfast is a huge business. We have homemade biscuit and gravy, tenderloin, and the works. For lunch, hot dogs are our biggest seller.”
Collinsville Trade Day is an outdoor market treasure hunters’ gold mine. “We try to run a family type atmosphere,” Charles added. “We have different singing groups that do entertainment most every week and we try to keep it as clean as we can. You can’t always predict the type of people you’ll get as sellers, but if we see something going on that shouldn’t be we address it immediately.”
If you’ve never been to an outdoor market (also known as flea market), Collinsville Trade Day is one of the best. You’ll experience some country living, as well as lots of wheeling and dealing.
For more information about Collinsville Trade Day, one of the oldest outdoor markets in Alabama, visit its website, Facebook page, or call 256-524-2536. You can visit this unique outdoor market located on Highway 11 at 1016 South Valley Ave., Collinsville, AL 35961. It’s open every Saturday from 4:30 AM – 2:00 PM. It is an early morning market, so be sure and go early to get the best deals.