Trade Days proved people would drive to Amity.
Amity Trade Days was more than a flea market. For a while, it gave people a clear reason to come here on purpose. Vendors set up, shoppers came in, food moved, traffic showed up, and Amity felt less like a town people only passed through.
The old version is gone, but the lesson still matters: Amity can pull people when the reason is simple, regular, and easy to explain.
Amity has always needed a reason for people to stop. In the railroad and timber years, the town had that reason through work, trade, shipping, schools, churches, and the public square. Later, Amity Trade Days gave the town another kind of draw: a monthly market people could understand right away.
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas says Russell and Kim Jones of Rosboro started Amity Trade Days in 2015 at the former Bean Lumber Company sawmill facility. It describes the market as being modeled after Canton, Texas, attracting more than 6,000 people per month with nearly 200 vendors. Other public listings described it as a large outdoor vintage flea market on the old lumber site.
That is the part worth paying attention to. Trade Days did not ask people to imagine what Amity could be. It gave them a date, a place, vendors, parking, food, and a reason to drive in. Small towns need that kind of clarity.
In 2022, local reporting said the former Amity Trade Days site was set to return to sawmill use through Caddo River Wood Products. That may have made sense for jobs and industrial use, but it left Amity without the same monthly visitor draw.
Bringing back something like Trade Days does not have to mean recreating the full 54-acre version. It could start smaller: a second-Saturday square market, a seasonal vendor row, a local food day, a yard-sale weekend, a swap meet, a maker market, or a river-and-square day tied to Caddo River traffic.
This is not just nostalgia. Amity needs a repeatable reason for people from Glenwood, Caddo River cabins, Lake Greeson, Murfreesboro, Hot Springs, Mount Ida, and Clark County back roads to come through town with money in their pocket and time to stop.
The public record tells part of the story.
The old market is documented well enough to tell the main story. Old photos, vendor memories, exact dates, and local details can make it better.
A monthly market with a real draw
Amity Trade Days started in 2015 at the former Bean Lumber Company sawmill facility. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas describes it as a monthly flea market modeled after Canton, Texas, with nearly 200 vendors and more than 6,000 people per month.
The old lumber site mattered
The market used the old industrial footprint instead of trying to make the town square do all the work. That gave Amity space for vendors, parking, food, and a full market weekend feel.
The old market grounds later changed uses
In 2022, local reporting said the former Amity Trade Days site was returning to sawmill use through Caddo River Wood Products. That does not erase the Trade Days idea. It just means a new version would need a different setup.
What could come next.
Start smaller than the old Trade Days
A new version does not have to copy the 54-acre market. A monthly square market, vendor row, food pop-up, yard-sale weekend, or seasonal trade day could start small and grow with local support.
Tie it to river traffic
A market day would pair naturally with Glenwood weekends, Caddo River traffic, cabin stays, Lake Greeson routes, and families already looking for a reason to slow down nearby.
Make it easy for vendors
Keep the first version simple: clear dates, simple vendor interest form, clear setup expectations, local food, parking notes, and enough promotion that sellers feel like the town is trying.
Amity needs a regular reason to gather again.
A market day will not fix everything by itself. But it gives vendors, food stops, sponsors, locals, and visitors something to point to. That is a start.
Were you part of Amity Trade Days, or would you support a new market?
Send memories, photos, vendor interest, sponsor questions, or local ideas. The next version should fit Amity as it is now: smaller, practical, and tied to the river and the town square.