First Monday Trades Day
Canton, Van Zandt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On the first Monday of each month in the early 1850s, Judges Oran M. Roberts and Bennett H. Martin held court in Canton, an event attended by townspeople and country folk alike. With large numbers of people present, court day also became the occasion for the common practice of auctioning stray horses. Within a short time horse trading and selling were prevalent and the day called "Hoss Monday." After a few years the First Monday Trades Day expanded to include all kinds of goods. In 1965, the city purchased these grounds for the monthly event. (1973)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the early 1850s, when Judges Oran M. Roberts and Bennett H. Martin held court in Canton on the first Monday of each month, the crowds that gathered turned the occasion into a marketplace. Stray horses were auctioned, and soon horse trading gave the day its nickname, "Hoss Monday." Over time it grew into a sprawling monthly trades day for goods of every kind, an event the city formalized when it bought these grounds in 1965.
Why it matters
First Monday Trades Day is one of the oldest continuously held flea markets in the country, a living relic of frontier court-day commerce.
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Related people
- · Oran M. Roberts
- · Bennett H. Martin
Themes & tags
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