Findlay Market Milestones

Findlay Market is named for General James Findlay, a veteran of the War of 1812 and a mayor of Cincinnati. He had planned to start a farmers' market on Elder Street but died before it became a reality. His estate donated the land to the city for a market.

1852 Construction begins on Findlay Market, one of the country's first iron framed market buildings

1855 Market is fully opened

1902 City engineers enclose Findlay Market and add refrigeration

1915 Market is remodeled and updated further

1921 First Findlay Market Parade on Opening Day of baseball season

1973-74 Market is closed and renovated at a cost of $900,000 as apartment buildings around the area are rehabilitated

1993 Consultants and city officials start meeting with neighborhood residents, developers and merchants to decide how to reinvigorate the market and its surroundings

1995 Findlay Market renovation plan unveiled. Plan includes creating a new playfield and turning the old one into a parking lot

1997 Construction on Findlay Market renovation begins.

Findlay Market Timeline

1770 James Findlay born in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania

1789 Fort Washington erected in Losantiville on the Ohio River to protect settlers

1790 Losantiville renamed Cincinnati

1793 James and wife Jane Irwin Findlay arrive in Cincinnati, build store

1795 Treaty of Greenville ends Indian wars in Ohio Valley

1798 James Findlay elected to Legislative Council of the Ohio Territory

1802 Cincinnati, population 1,000, is incorporated as a town

1803 Ohio becomes a state

1803 James Findlay elected to Ohio State House of Representatives

1805-06 James Findlay serves as Mayor of Cincinnati

1808 Fort Washington dismantled

1810-11 James Findlay serves second term as Mayor of Cincinnati

1811 First steamboats arrive on the Ohio River

1812 James Findlay commands regiment near Detroit, taken prisoner by British

1819 Cincinnati incorporates as a city

1825-33 Findlay serves in U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 1st District

1821 Findlay, Ohio founded near fort built by James Findlay in1812

1829 Fifth Street Market opens between Vine and Walnut

1829 Canal Market opens on Court between Vine and Walnut

1833 James Findlay files a Northern Liberties plat designating streets and a market

1834 James Findlay runs unsuccessfully for Governor of Ohio

1835 General James Findlay dies in Cincinnati

1841 Jane Irwin Findlay lives in President Harrison's White House 1848 Wade Street Market built at Wade and Bauer

1849 Cincinnati annexes the Northern Liberties

1851 Jane Irwin Findlay dies, estate donates land to Cincinnati for public market

1852 Construction of Findlay Market begins

1853 Cincinnati Fire Department formed

1855 Findlay Market opens following long delays and disputes

1864 Canal Market torn down and replaced with Court Street Market

1867 Roebling suspension bridge opens

1868 Cincinnati Baseball Club, nation's first professional team, formed

1870 Fifth Street Market demolished to build Tyler Davidson Fountain

1878 Music Hall opens

1889 Redland Field, later named Crosley Field, built

1890 Jabez Elliot Flower Market built on Sixth Street between Plum and Elm

1895 Sixth Street Market, Cincinnati's largest, built between Plum and Western Row

1898 Wade Street Market torn down

1901 Pearl Street Market built on Market Street between Sycamore and Broadway

1902 Findlay Market's center masonry tower is built

1911 Findlay Market is enclosed with walls

1912 Court Street Market closed by Board of Health

1920 First annual Findlay Market Cincinnati Reds Opening Day Parade

1933 Union Terminal, now Cincinnati Museum Center, completed

1934 Pearl Street Market raised, tower bell moved to Findlay Market

1934 Nation's first night baseball game is played at Crosley Field

1950 Jabez Elliott Flower Market replaced with a parking lot

1960 Sixth Street Market razed to build ramp to I-75

1972 Findlay Market is listed on National Register of Historic Places

1973-74 Findlay Market is extensively renovated

1977 Findlay Market area becomes a local Environmental Quality District

1983 Over-the-Rhine becomes a National Historic District

1995 City Council adopts Findlay Market Master Business Development Plan

1999 Findlay Market Farmers Market opens in new farm market shed

2001 Private, non-profit Corporation for Findlay Market is formed

2002 Renovation and expansion of Findlay Market begins

2003 Renovation of east side of market house is completed