Carthage in 1868—69

The information presented here was gathered from local papers and used in the 1993 exhibit "Carthage Rebirth & Growth: 1866—1929."

In 1868, Carthage had a population of 1,200. It had one school, 4 churches (Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Christian), and according to a business review article from the Carthage Weekly Banner, Cathage was home to the following types of businesses:

6 dry goods
5 groceries and meat markets
2 hardwares
2 drug stores
2 boot & shoe shops
2 saddle & harness makers
3 blacksmiths
2 wagon makers
3 doctors
16 attorneys
1 notary
1 music store
1 watchmaker
1 photographer
2 tailors
1 jewelry store
1 lumber yard
1 livery
3 brick yards
5 carpenters
3 cabinet makers
1 coffin maker
2 banks
3 milliners
1 saw mill
1 flour mill
1 nursery (horticulture)
2 realtors
2 furniture stores
2 hotels
5 boarding houses
1 bakery
2 soda fountains
1 book & news shop
2 ice cream saloons

......And What Did Things Cost?
Selected Cost of Living Items in 1869 (as reported in local newspapers)

Rio coffee, per pound — 30 cents
Sugar, per pound — 25 cents
Butter, per pound — 50 cents
Lard, per pound — 20 cents
Bacon, per pound — 20 cents
Eggs, per dozen — 25 cents
Sorghum, per gallon — $1.00
Apples, per bushel — 60 cents
Potatoes, per bushel — 80 cents
Corn, per bushel — $1.00
Corn meal, per sack — 80 cents
Flour, per cwt. — $4.00
Prints (calico), per yard — 15 cents
Muslin, per yard — 20 cents
Cotton yarn, per pound — 30 cents
Tobacco, home leaf, per pound — 25 cents
Oak lumber, per 100 feet — $30.00
Pine finishing, 1st quality — $60.00
Pine flooring, rough — $45.00
Shingles, oak & walnut, handmade — $5.00
Walnut lumber — $40.00
Laths — $8.00
Brick — $8.00
Lime, per bushel — 40 cents

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Carthage in 1873—74

In just a few years, the population of town was up to about 6,000. While there was still only one school and churches had only grown by four (Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, South; and Second Baptist), businesses and industries were growing as seen in this list.

4 newspapers
1 woolen mill
2 foundries or machine shops
3 wagon and carriage makers
2 plow makers
1 furniture factory
1 brewery
4 flour mills
7 dry goods
2 boot and shoemakers
2 harness and saddle makers
2 jewelry stores
15 groceries and meat markets
3 drug stores
1 queensware store (china/ironstone)
3 hardwares
4 banks
1 cigar factory
1 soda water factory
1 marble works

Plus 20—30 other commercial concerns that would have encompassed the quarries, mines, railroads as well as business and medical professions.

.......And What Did Things Cost?
Selected Cost of Living Items for 1874 (as reported in the Carthage Banner, May 14, 1874)

Flour, per 100 pounds — $3.75-3.90
Corn, per bushel — $1.10
Corn meal — $1.10
Graham flour — $3.00
Hominy, per pound — 05 cents
Cranberries, per gallon — 80 cents
Potatoes, per bushel — $1.20
Onions — $1.50
Beans — $3.00
Butter, per pound — 15-20 cents
Cheese, per pound — 25 cents
Lard — 13 cents
Eggs, per dozen — 10 cents
Chickens, per dozen — $1.50
Pork, per pound — 7-10 cents
Beef, per pound — 5-12.5 cents
White fish, per pound — 10 cents
Mackerel, per pound — 12 cents
Salmon, per pound — 15 cents
Salt, per pound — $4.00
Wood, per cord — $3.00
Coal, per bushel — 15-20 cents

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