RINGGOLD, Ga. – Despite abrupt and heavy rains Sunday, bargain hunters were busy seeking the perfect treasure on the last day of the Dixie Highway yard sale.
“We came up Friday, and my wife did some shopping before we went on to Dollywood [Pigeon Forge, Tenn.],” said Mark Wigley, who was passing through with his wife from Cartersville, Ga. “We stopped again on our way back.”
Wigley said this was his first time shopping along the historic Dixie Highway, better known as U.S. Highway 41. His wife heard about it on the internet, so they included a few stops along their trip.
Although Sunday didn’t see as many people as Saturday and Friday, many shoppers still wandered among vendors set up at Ringgold Seed & Feed Antiques in Ringgold, Ga. The shop holds its June High Cotton Market annually in conjunction with the Dixie Highway yard sale.
Mike Crane and his wife, Gay, owners of Ringgold Feed & Seed Antiques, said the weather was beautiful for most of the weekend, and Saturday was their biggest day for shoppers since they opened three-and-a-half years ago. The couple estimated they had 3,000 to 4,000 customers.
“It was mammoth,” Mike said. “I mean, it was shoulder-to-shoulder in here.”
Gay said they talked to many people who drove from as far as Nashville, Knoxville and Atlanta.
“A lot of people did a weekend trip and told us they were spending the night in Adairsville [Ga.] and other towns along the way,” she said.
The crowds have grown as the yard sale has gotten bigger over the years, Gay said.
The annual 90-mile Dixie Highway yard sale is held during the first full weekend of June, according to the event’s Facebook page. It stretches through North Georgia communities from Marietta to Ringgold, showcasing historic towns along the way.
Built in the early 20th century, the Dixie Highway is a network of roads connecting Canada to Florida. It was the nation’s first paved north-south multistate highway, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia’s website.
Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.