Summerville Trade Day, a large flea market held outdoors every Tuesday and Saturday year-round, is a Northwest Georgia tradition dating to 1976. People come from far and wide to buy and sell, oftentimes both, because there are good deals to be had on a wide array of everything including the kitchen sink, and folks treat each other hospitably.
This vintage Big Boy bank is just one of thousands of collectibles that show up on a regular basis at Summerville Trade Day. A lucky shopper grabbed this “little guy” for $5.00!
Though we are located two miles north of downtown Summerville, we like to think of Trade Day as a little like an old-fashioned Southern downtown where you could find pretty much everything you need, visit with friends and neighbors and patronize people who appreciate your business. Heading north on US Highway 27 from the Chattooga County Courthouse downtown, we are two miles up on the left. There is a rusty 1949 GMC truck on the corner of Henry Branch Road with Trade Day's name hand-lettered on it, marking the dealer entrance. Free customer parking is on Highway 27 just past our truck at 12071 (as well as off Henry Branch Road).
By any measure, attending Trade Day is a unique experience, a throwback to simpler times - where bartering is fun and where dealers wishing you a nice day actually mean it - but with modern amenities. If you've never been to Trade Day of if it's been a long time, come visit. We expect that you'll want to return!
If you ever wanted it, or think you might want it someday, you can find it here: everything from soup (canned) to nuts (hardware and garden-grown varieties) plus local produce, antiques, collectibles, tools, old coins ... You name it, it has probably come through here, including a huge Christmas sleigh we bought and donated to the City of Summerville.
This is actually a car driven in by a shopper!
In July 2019, we moved the Trade Day selling area to what had been the overflow customer parking lot on the backside of the railroad tracks. It was quite a job, grading and hauling in more than 400 truckloads of chert (a rock-dirt mix). Atop that improved land, we built a fresh concession stand, sparkling-clean restrooms and our 150-foot-long sales shed.
Outside spaces on Tuesdays are $9.00 each, $7.00 each on Saturdays (that's a deal unto itself, folks!). Spaces are 12 feet along the aisle and 25 feet deep. Covered spaces under the shed are $10.00 each on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Those spaces are 10 feet on the aisle and 25 feet deep.
True to customs in our rural community, where many people still farm or at least grow their own vegetables, Trade Day starts early, around 5:00 AM, and begins winding down after 1:00 PM. No outside concessions are allowed, but we highly recommend our concession stand's famed corn dogs and funnel cakes.