For centuries, market day was the heartbeat of American towns. Long before supermarkets and shopping malls, neighbors gathered to buy fresh food, exchange news, conduct business, and simply enjoy being together. When the Columbia Market House reopened in 2021, it wasn’t just reopening a building—it was reviving an ancient tradition.
It started slow but energy has been building this year. Assistant Market Manager Jenna Beck says,”On Saturdays things are really buzzing! There is a great energy, lots of people are here both from in town and out of town.”
On any given Saturday visitors mill about enjoying Cambodian cuisine from Mama Son’s, authentic Mexican dishes from Toasted Tortilla, classic American comfort food from Griddle’s, fresh Market House soft pretzels, craft beer, baked goods, candy, fresh produce, locally raised meats, and more.
A Meeting Place and a Market House
The present Market House was constructed in 1869. In a nod to Columbia’s older status as a “railway town”, it features an unusual system of arched Howe trusses more commonly associated with railroad bridges. This atypical adoption eliminated the need for interior support columns, creating the spacious, open market hall and arched roof visitors still enjoy today.
“It’s an incubator,” Market Manager Bonnie Link explains. “Once people get established, they have the opportunity to move into food trucks or their own brick and mortar operation. We also get a lot of ‘pop-ups’—perhaps one-third of our vendors started out that way.”
Jenna continues, “Things are really happening—I would say traffic has tripled since I started in October of 2024. It’s a big place for Saturday social interaction—this is where people come to meet each other and eat.”
Jenna explains that the market helped King’s Butcher Shop, of which she is a part owner, transform its operations from a seasonal deer-processing shop into a year round operation. “The retail experience has been incredible. When my brother Chantz and I decided to get involved here, we were able to expand into lunch meats, bolognas, meat sticks, chicken salads. Each week we offer a new thing: pasta salads, smoked turkey salad, dips with meat, jalapeño hot dogs.”
King’s also offers locally raised Wagyu/Holstein beef. Known for its distinguished marbling, tenderness, and rich flavor, American Wagyu has become increasingly sought after by home cooks and chefs alike. This further showcases the market’s historic role of connecting consumers with locally produced, high-quality foods that are often difficult to find in traditional grocery stores.
But there is another story here, for hidden beneath the busy market is one of Columbia’s more unusual historic spaces—what’s known as The Dungeons.
The name is apt. In the nineteenth century the borough converted the basement of the earlier market house that occupied the same location—and stepping below definitely evokes a different feel. They functioned as holding cells and are said to have housed various colorful characters including the infamous Buzzard gang. Local historian Rick Fisher gives tours of these old cells that tell their story—which are also said to be inhabited by ghosts! There are numerous hair-raising stories about the place.
Money is being raised to turn it into an exhibit space that includes the history of policing in the borough. Market manager Bonnie Link, mayor Leo Lutz, borough manager Jack Brommer, and several other notable locals found themselves held hostage in a jail cell until money could be raised to spring them out! Future fundraising events could pose include more “Jail Bails” or even an “escape room” type event.
Thomas Edison In Jail?
One colorful story is that Thomas Edison is said to have spent time in one of these cells. As it is told, a local constable caught him speeding in his electric vehicle and held the famous inventor for a few hours in the bowels of the Dungeons. It is said that when his identity was verified they released him.
Things are happening! Saturday’s are buzzing…
It is certainly possible that Edison could have passed through and earned the ire of the local constable in one of his newfangled machines. At the time Columbia sat along one of the nation’s most important transportation corridors—the Lincoln Highway, America’s first coast-to-coast transportation network. Countless famous people would have indeed passed through town back in the day.
Even today, Barack Obama passed through the market in 2008 to buy produce!
Unfortunately the story of Edison cannot be corroborated from any news reports so it has to be classified as local legend. But it’s a fun story to think about.
Bringing Back The Good Ol’ Days
In an age when nearly everything can be purchased with the click of a button, the market reminds us that commerce was once deeply personal. Back in the day, a person could shake hands with the farmer who raised your vegetables and chat with the butcher who prepared your meat. You learned the names of the people baking your bread and serving your lunch.
The Market brings that back. Every purchase becomes an investment in your neighbors and community rather than an anonymous corporation.
The Columbia Market doesn’t simply preserve a historic building—it preserves a more communal way of life. Whether you’re stopping in for groceries, lunch, or simply coffee with a friend, the market is becoming one of Columbia’s favorite gathering places—and a symbol of the renaissance Columbia is undergoing.
Spend a Saturday morning wandering its aisles, enjoying a meal—or even venturing below to explore the historic dungeons—and you’ll discover that some traditions are worth keeping alive.
- Contributed by Kenton Glick
