“It’s great for our community”: Archer’s weekly farmers’ market raises funds to restore Railway Museum
BY JAMIE BERUBE, Alachua Chronicle Correspondent
ARCHER, Fla. – Every Tuesday in the tiny town of Archer, just outside Gainesville, Ann Green arrives early at the Archer Railway Museum to prepare for the weekly farmers’ market, which runs from 2 to 6 p.m.
As secretary of the Archer Historical Society, Green prides herself on being there before the vendors to ensure everything runs smoothly. “I’m the first one here because I welcome the vendors, and I stay until the vendors get packed up and leave,” Green said. According to Green, May 2024 will be the second anniversary of the weekly Tuesday market.
As an Archer native, she believes the market serves a purpose beyond purchasing goods and food. “I’ve lived in Archer my whole life, and there are people who live in Archer that I never would have met unless we had the market; it’s great for our community,” she said.
Farmers’ market raises funds for the Archer Historical Society
The Archer Historical Society was established in 1977 as a local non-profit historical society comprising citizens with the shared goal of preserving, protecting, and promoting Archer’s past. The members of the society are seeking to raise money through vendor fees to restore the flooring of the Archer Railroad Museum. “The rental fee for having a table at the market is $10, and that money goes directly towards the Archer Historical Society. The market is our main source of income,” Green said.
According to the museum’s website, the museum is located in the historic Seaboard Air Line depot, which was built around 1900. Inside the museum, visitors can see the worn wood flooring that the society aims to repair.
“The museum as it stands was built in the 1870s. The extension to it was built in the 1890s, and the far end of the building was built in 1856. We are replacing the floor at the far end of the building,” Green stated.
$75,000 needed to restore the floors
Jim Voss is the project manager for restoring the floors. When he found out through a friend that the weekly market was raising money for floor renovation, he stepped up and joined as a member. He plans to use his passion for woodworking to help work on the project as a volunteer.
“I’m pretty much going to be doing the carpentry part of it because labor is expensive. To get somebody to help lug the boards from the sawmill to here, and from where we are drying them outside into inside the building, it would be costly,” Voss said. “The floor we have left to restore is going to cost around $68,000-75,000,” he stated.
When asked why he is passionate about the project, he said that he was impressed by the historical society members and their fight to restore the museum. “They stood for a cause, and I wanted to join in the battle,” Voss said.
Jonathan Nelson, a member of the historical society, said the society is saving at least $30,000 by having Voss do the floors.
Goods range from homemade sourdough bread to soaps, plants, jewelry, and incense
Vendors at the market offer an array of goods for sale, ranging from homemade sourdough bread and bagels to chemical-free soaps, plants, jewelry, and incense.
Proprietor Carla Young sells homemade bath and body products that are all-natural and chemical-free at the market. She calls her business Sandy’s Scentsationz & Gifts. “A lot of people use non-clumping agents and chemicals in their products to keep them from sticking together, and I don’t do that for my products. I use organic ingredients,” Young said.
Amanda Griffin is an Archer native who recently began to sell jewelry, wood-burned trays, wall hangings, and incense at her booth. “I’m fairly new to the market – I’ve only been here a month and a half, but I love what they’re doing with drying the wood and repairing the flooring. I think it’s awesome,” Griffin said.
Her favorite thing about the market is being able to socialize with her neighbors. “Every single time I’ve been out here, I’ve seen someone I’m familiar with,” she said.
Society member Jonathan Nelson said his favorite part of the market is visiting with a Purple Heart Marine veteran who sells homemade sourdough bread. “The Marine veteran who sells his bread here, he’s the best. He makes the best bread I’ve ever had, and I’m a baker. I can’t make bread like he makes it,” Nelson said.
Visitors to the farmers’ market bring historical items for the museum
The president of the society, Linda McMahon, took on the role of president two years ago because of her love for history. “I’ve always loved history, and the society here was welcoming new people, and I thought that was great, so I decided to volunteer here,” McMahon said.
“This market has brought in new people who have brought us things for preservation. We have a member whose father was in the railroad business up north, and he had all these different axes and things and he gifted us them,” McMahon said. “I like finding things that people have held and used for a hundred years or more and preserving them,” she stated.
McMahon got into electrolysis as a hobby. She describes it as a method of getting rust off of iron or steel to preserve it. She plans to use this hobby in her work by cleaning up and preserving some of the antique items the museum has received as donations from the community.
Right now, floors are the priority
The goal is to have antiques on display throughout the museum for future visitors. The floors are the priority, however. According to Green, the society has received grants for the floor renovation project. The society also has a grant-writing team that meets once a month. “We meet to brainstorm where we are going to write letters asking for grant money,” she said.
“The first grant we received was from Clay Electric. And that was for securing lights and rewiring the building and bringing our electrical up to code,” Green said. “CSX also gave us money, and we milled boards for flooring with that money. Duke Energy gave us money, too. The first money they gave us was strictly for display cabinets, and we do anticipate getting more grants,” she said.
Society members also aim to preserve the town
For Jim Voss, the bigger issue is preserving the town. “If we don’t preserve the history, the town of Archer will taken over by big brother Gainesville, and I think Archer should be preserved,” Voss said.
“Archer is a diamond in the rough. It has a history. This town has character, and it’s worth preserving,” he said.
Outstanding! Well done!
Gainesville City and County Commissioners should take note.
Gainesville and it’s over paid leaders have for the past decade destroyed what was once a thriving city.
Let’s hope Archer thrives and sends a strong message to all those who support their communities.
This type of collective effort is what built our country. Not destroy and tax for a new building with borrowed money. The citizens of Archer should stand behind this effort to bring back the great history of this town.
Well done and congratulations!
Outstanding!
I wish more farmers and ranchers in our area would consider doing something like this. It’s good for them and it’s good for us.
Great article! I live in Ocala and have been to the archer market a couple of times. It is definitely worth the trip .. especially now that I know that it is helping to preserve history!
We are so appreciative of Jamie Berube who wanted to write an article about our Archer Farmers Market and the people that have a passion for the success of the vendors and at the same time our desire to preserve the rich history of Archer. She is so creative. While doing the interview she looked out a window and saw a goat on a leash and said, “Oh! There’s a goat. I have to go see it.” Lee and Mark, regulars at the Market bring their pet goat, Lily, to visit sometimes.