On the second Friday of every month, local business owners line the Trenton Train Depot with makeshift stalls. From hand-sewn quilts to homemade soap bars, the monthly Makers Market allows residents and visitors to shop and support their local businesses.
The Trenton Train Depot itself is 105 years old. Its historic charm and creaky wood floors have now become a bustling hub of activity at the monthly markets.
The event organizer, Angie Barron, said she thought about the idea of the Makers Market for years before it came to fruition in the Summer of 2025.
“My plan was that I wanted a Makers Market strictly for handmade or homegrown items,” Barron said.
Now, the City of Trenton hosts the monthly event like clockwork, giving local businesses the chance to showcase their work and passersby the opportunity to check out local offerings from their fellow community members.
The monthly event started up last July after Barron pitched the idea to city commissioners, who unanimously voted yes to start it up.
Along with organizing the event, Barron also sells handmade quilts and embroidered products at the market. “I’ve always quilted,” Barron said. “Since I was 12 years old, my aunt taught me how to quilt.” Right next to her booth, her husband of 13 years, Danny Barron, brings his boiled peanuts, or as he calls it, the “Caviar of the South.”
“A lot of people have never tried them,” Barron said. “So they might be surprised to learn how good something that you think of, like peanut butter, roasted peanuts. Boiling is just another way.”
On the other end of the Depot, Kerry McGill and Angie Reim sell everything from goat milk to jellies. As a local business, they rely on events like the Makers Market to get their products in front of more people.
“Everything everyone makes, they’re putting their heart and soul in, and it's not commercialized,” McGill said. “Everything is locally done.”
The market featured just under 15 local vendors on Friday. With each month the market takes place, more business owners learn about the event and want to take part in it.
Trenton newcomers Wayne and Claudia Barrette came to the Makers Market for the first time this month. After visiting, they said they hope they can one day start their own business and set up shop at the Makers Market.
“Everybody’s just doing their own thing and trying to build from whatever they have,” Claudia said. “It’s very entrepreneurial.”
Even though Angie Barron now lives outside of Trenton’s city limits, she wanted to bring this market to where she was born and raised.
“This is my hometown,” Angie Barron said. “I just wanted to see something here, and I love the depot. I love how old and historic it is. This was the perfect spot for it.”
The city has already scheduled the next Makers Market events through November, with the next one taking place on Friday, April 10, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.