History of the Traditional Market

The traditional wholesale markets as we know them are the result of the collective vision of Barbara Pitt and Robert Goodrich, who are brother and sister. In 1978, Bob & Barbara held the 2nd retail country craft show in the United States. Today that show is known as The York Folk Art Show, in York, Pennsylvania. In 1984, building on that experience in the retail arena, they decided to launch the first wholesale market under the name Country Heritage Wholesale Markets Inc, now known as The Heritage Markets.

Prior to 1984, there wasn’t a wholesale venue for traditional and country exhibitors; they were represented by market representatives or “reps” at the Atlanta Gift Show. Exhibitors had no control over the orders taken at the gift shows and the “reps” got a percentage of all orders they took, filled or not.

The first show was held, in January 1984, at the Aladdin Shrine Complex in Columbus, Ohio. The second show was held the same year at the old Holiday Inn (now the Crowne Plaza Hotel) in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, the original site of the Valley Forge Markets. Products were limited in production and American handcrafted.

After 1984, Barbara took over and developed the wholesale venue under her company, The Heritage Markets. Robert, continued with the retail shows in York, Pennsylvania.

All wholesale venues up to this point were strictly order taking with no on-site sales. In 1991, The Heritage Market started the first cash & carry venues on the upper tiers of the Aladdin Shrine Complex and the lower level of the Holiday Inn in Valley Forge. Barbara saw the need for a different marketing tool for exhibitors who did not have the resources or space to pack and ship and those that did not have the staying power to wait 30 days for payment of shipped products.

In 1993, the show moved to The Courthouse, a sports facility in King of Prussia. It grew in size to 175 exhibitors as the cash & carry concept gained popularity with buyers. In 1999, The Courthouse was sold and with no building, the show was lost to Fort Washington. From that point on, Barbara diversified the business with locations not only in Columbus, Ohio, but opened shows in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Fort Wayne, Indiana and West Springfield, Massachusetts. She continued with a smaller venue at the Hilton Hotel and later the Park Ridge Hotel in King of Prussia.

Through the wave of imports that swept the marketplace in the 1990’s, The Heritage Markets remained true to the American handcrafted concept. It was not until 2006, seeing the need to add dimension to the show with select imports, that she diversified and admitted products such as florals, garden iron and carefully crafted reproductions.

Barbara’s original vision created the platform for the shows as we know them today. They are truly specialty markets for specialty buyers. They are not gift shows. The markets have a special “heart” to them, where buyers and exhibitors become friends and family. It is truly a “business community” in the finest sense. There have been ups and downs and twists and turns in the road, but the shows are still here. Quite a miracle considering that everyone gave the country market “fad” a lifespan of approximately 2-3 years back in 1978. The Heritage Market hopes you will continue to join us, as we continue to bring you, the best of traditional handcrafted Americana for the country market today.