Pomona Swap: The History and Ownership of California’s Largest Flea Market

The Pomona Swap Meet and Classic Car Show, often known as Pomona Swap, is a well-known flea market in Pomona, California. This market, which opened in 1975 and has since become a Southern California cultural icon, draws tourists from all over the world. However, a lot of people are still unclear of Pomona Swap’s ownership and how it came to be so well-known.

Over the years, Pomona Swap’s ownership has changed several times. Don and Joyce McClelland purchased the market from the original proprietor George Cross in 1993. Prior to selling it to Alex Hodges in 2003, the McClellands successfully ran the market for more than a decade. Hodges serves as the chief executive officer of Fairplex, a nonprofit company that oversees the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, where Pomona Swap is conducted. Speaking about the venue, Pomona Swap is located on the grounds of the Fairplex in Pomona, California. More than 2,500 merchants selling anything from antiques and collectibles to vehicle parts and vintage apparel can be found in the flea market area, which is spread out over 15 acres. More than 2,500 vintage and specialized cars are displayed during its classic car event.

Let’s now discuss the intriguing topic of why flea markets are referred described as “flea” marketplaces. When secondhand products were being sold from outdoor kiosks in France in the 1800s, the phrase “flea market” first appeared. The name of the market, “puce,” which is French for “flea,” is thought to have sprung from the fact that the secondhand items sold there were frequently infected with fleas. Some historians, however, contend that the phrase “flea market” actually relates to the small-scale and unimportant nature of the commodities offered, just as fleas are unimportant insects and small-scale organisms.

Let’s talk about whether there were flea circuses last, shall we? Yes, but they were not at all as we usually imagine. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, entertainers would teach fleas to do stunts like pull toy carts or leap through hoops as a sort of public entertainment called “flea circuses.” The “fleas” utilized in these circuses, however, were essentially tiny metal or paper cutouts that the performers maneuvered.

In conclusion, the well-known Southern California flea market Pomona Swap has had numerous ownership changes since it opened in 1975. It has approximately 2,500 merchants selling a wide range of goods and is held on the Fairplex grounds in Pomona. The phrase “flea market” has its roots in France and may have gotten its name from the little, unimportant items that were being sold there or from the probable flea infestation. Finally, flea circuses did exist, but they were far different from what we usually think of and included manipulating metal or paper cutouts.