Organizational records of the Dane County Farmers' Market (DCFM), primarily consisting of applications for permission to sell and membership applications, but also including administrative files such as by-laws, board meeting and annual meeting minutes, market brochures and rules, season stall contracts and lists, newsletters, and studies and surveys, as well as inspection forms, rule violation instances, and requests for investigation. While the records contain some gaps in documentation such as years for which no meeting minutes exist and a lack of early records in general, apart from the notable exception of correspondence between Mayor William “Bill” Dyke and others regarding the beginnings of the market, the collection provides a granular look at the development of the market from 1972 to 2014 through individual membership applications and permission to sell applications. Other administrative records, particularly the market manager's records, trace the evolution of market administration and regulations. Also documented is the presence of Hmong vendors and members in significant numbers beginning in the early 1990s.
Starting in 2012, membership applications sometimes include DOR registration certificates or seller's permits; DATCP licenses for mobile food operations, food processing plants, food warehouses, or nursery dealers; cheesemaker and nursery growers licenses; certificates of liability insurance; rental agreements; information on products sold and percentage of farm ingredients used. Some files also contain notices of rule violations, appeals of membership terminations, and requests for clarification of partnership status, seniority status, and other issues which affect season stall assignments and stall succession. Correspondence relating to similar issues is also found in the Market manager's files. There are no records in the collection relating to a lawsuit filed in the early 1990s concerning the expulsion of a vendor.
Photographs consist of three black-and-white contact sheets of market images taken in 1977, and snapshots of the Capitol grounds and sidewalk areas prior to the start of the market season in 1988.
