The origins of the market started in 1880, when Arthur Fremont Gilmore and his partner, who had come from
Illinois, bought two dairy farms in the Los Angeles area. Gilmore bought what is now called The Original Farmers Market, and his partner bought the land plot nowadays known as The Grove. Ten years later the partners decided to split their holdings and Gilmore took control of the large 256-acre ranch, its dairy herd, and farmhands at what is now the world-famous Original Farmers Market and Grove. The market started when a dozen nearby farmers began to park their trucks on a field to sell fresh produce to local residents. The cost to rent the space was fifty cents per day.
Gilmore Oil Company replaced the dairy farm when oil was discovered under the land while drilling for water wells in 1905; this became the
Salt Lake Oil Field.
Earl Bell (E. B.) Gilmore, son of A. F. Gilmore, took over the family business. The younger Gilmore started midget car racing and brought professional football to Los Angeles. He built
Gilmore Field for the
Hollywood Stars baseball team, which was owned by
Bing Crosby,
Barbara Stanwyck, and
Cecil B. DeMille. When
Television City opened next door in 1952, The Original Farmers Market provided those working or visiting that
television studio a convenient place to shop or eat. In 2014 The Farmers Market opened Farmers Market in LAX Terminal 5 in collaboration with Delaware North Companies. The location at the airport marked the first expansion of the market beyond Third & Fairfax. The licensed location features a broad selection of meals, snacks, wine, coffee and sweets from Original Farmers Market restaurants and stalls. ==In popular culture==