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Annual Peddlers Faire Supports Local Museum
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A vintage settee is one of the many things donated to the Knights Ferry Museum by area locals who have spent a large portion, if not all, of their lives calling the historic town of Knights Ferry home. Teresa Hammond/The Leader

Whether it be a love of the outdoors, a unique find or a bit of history, Knights Ferry has it all to offer its visitors. This Sunday, April 24 marks the perfect time to take advantage of it all as historic Knights Ferry hosts the 25th Gold Country Annual Peddler’s Faire. The event will be hosted at the covered bridge and Army Corp Park along the Stanislaus River from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We expect about 100 vendors,” event organizer Carol Davis said, “from as far as Fresno and Gustine. All proceeds benefit the Knights Ferry Museum.”

Situated just above the Knights Ferry Creamery in the center of the quaint historic town the Knights Ferry Museum offers visitors an opportunity to travel back in time.

“The museum has been open over 20 years,” Davis said, noting that the majority of the items and artifacts were donated by locals.

“We didn’t even have dial phones,” Davis told a student visitor, as she demonstrated on a switchboard. “We only had phone service from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Everything was done in the General Store.”

The upstairs museum space hosts a number of unique treasures for visitors to view: hand cranked wash basins, ice boxes, lawn mowers to vintage clothing. Young and old alike can easily fill an hour of time exploring the endless number of vintage treasures.

“I’ve always been into antiques,” museum volunteer Sharon Page said. “I love the stuff and love the history. The stories the things tell.”

“Every time someone comes they remember more stories to tell,” Davis said of the museums visitors.

Davis shared she grew up surrounded by many of the things now at home in the museum space. Then, she said, some of those things didn’t mean much to her.

“Now I wish I’d asked more about some of the stuff,” Davis confessed. “We have people just drive through and stop at the ice cream shop and they’ll call with questions about Knights Ferry. It’s amazing how many people just go for Sunday rides.”

The Knights Ferry Museum is open the first Sunday of every month in conjunction with the IOOF Pancake Breakfast. The museum is also opened during special events.

All proceeds from the annual Peddler’s Faire benefit the museum to keep it open for visitors to enjoy.