On a whim, I decided to check out the White City Antique Mercantile Craft Fair yesterday afternoon. White City, Florida, as I mentioned in a previous post, was founded by Danish settlers back in 1893. The town was named after Daniel Burnham's Great White City, the main attraction at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, which those Danish settlers had attended. There were about 25 vendors set up behind the White City Mercantile building, which was built in 1901 and originally served as a grocery store and post office. These days it is packed with antiques and collectibles. There weren't a large number of people at the craft fair, but everyone seemed friendly and to be having a good time.
White City has had more than its share of ups and downs over the years, but it still has many of the original houses, many of them quite small, giving a good idea of what the town was like back at the turn of the 20th century. I walked around the grounds checking out the booths and then went into the store itself to browse the many items on display in there. Getting a feel for the place as I wandered around, and later, after reading the Facebook post advertising the craft fair, I have come to realize that although White City is part of Fort Pierce, Florida, and things like Winn Dixie grocery stores, gas stations, shopping centers, and all the other trappings of civilization are just a few blocks away, this place is still a small town, where everyone seems to know and support each other. And it has retained its unique character, too, which is very nice to see. It is small town America hiding out in plain sight.
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