Ghost Town Flea Market Review (Athens, AL)
By: Karl & Tonya from When It Was Cool (@wiwcool, karl@whenitwascool.com)
Ghost Town (or as the sign says "Ghostown" Flea market in Athens, ALabama
The When It Was Cool family went on a flea market adventure this past weekend and stumbled upon a really cool place. We first visited the Cullman, AL Flea Market alongside I-65 between Birmingham and Huntsville. It didn't take us long there as that Flea Market has withered away to almost nothing. Twenty-years ago, Cullman Flea Market was one of the biggest and best in the state. Now it is just a shell of it's former self.
From there we went north on I-65 to Highway 72 which goes through Athens, Alabama to Huntsville. There we visited the Limestone County Flea Market. At one time, Limestone County Flea Market was one of the largest in the state of Alabama. Again, however, times have changed. Limestone County is in considerably better shape than Cullman and still have a sizable number of dealers. It is worth the trip if you live in a 100 mile or so range. I picked up a pretty good bag full of action figures there at an excellent price and we saw some unique stuff there.
Just up the road from Limestone County Flea Market back toward I-65 was a neat little flea market called "Ghost Town (Ghostown) Flea Market". Looking at it from Highway 72 it doesn't look like much but you actually have to park in the back. Two cars can not pass in and out the entrance at the same time so be careful turning off the roadway.
The flea market is designed to be a tiny old town with various junk scattered about.
The Ghost Town Flea Market is designed to look like an abandoned old Ghost Town complete with tiny buildings. At one time, I imagine these were vendor booths but in the age of eBay and Amazon, the flea market business is struggling to survive. Still, there was some really cool old junk and antiques here and it wasn't littered with cheap imported trinkets. This flea market had the good stuff - old, discarded, antique merchandise. Almost nothing was marked with a price. It was pretty much "make an offer" and everything we bought was very reasonable.
One stop shopping in this town apparently.
Tonya talked to the owners who said they had purchased the flea market from the previous owner who built it to resemble a small town. The main building was extremely interesting on the inside. Built out of scrap lumber and discarded items the building is designed in a really cool way. Just the inside decor of the main building was worth the trip even though we also picked up a 1960's Heidi Pocketbook doll and a tricycle.
Vintage soda bottles used to make a window.
old stones, concrete, and various junk items RE-PURPOSED to make a really cool hall area.
I have no idea what this stuff does but i want it.
If you are ever up near the Alabama - Tennessee state line on a weekend, I would encourage you to take a look at the Ghost Town flea market. Don't be afraid to make an offer on something you see and it's worth the time you'll spend just to walk around and enjoy the imagination that someone put into the place. The owners are extremely nice and personable so don't be afraid to talk with them. They had some really cool stories about the history of the place.
Tonya spotted these totally not creepy dolls in a dust covered case inside the main building.
If you enjoy our articles, videos, podcasts, and reviews please consider a donation to help us build When It Was Cool. We really want to increase the number of podcasts and contributors to the site so if you can spare a few dollars in any amount it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
