Home » Glimpse into the Past » What Did Things Cost in 1872?

In 1872, the U.S. population had grown to over 38 million people, and Ulysses S. Grant had just been re-elected for a second term as President. Luther Burbank developed the Idaho potato from a single seed ball, much of Boston burned during a three-day fire, and an American cargo ship called the Mary Celeste was found drifting in the Atlantic Ocean with no crew aboard. On average, horses cost $60, pigs $5, milking cows just over $20, and goats only $2. A farm worker earned $23 per month, a place to sleep, and meals.

More 1872 prices:



Road buggy with plain top and one seat Road buggy with plain top and one seat

Road buggy with plain top and two seats

Road buggy with fancy top and one seat

Wheat flour — $12.75/barrel

Corn meal — 1 cent/pound

Rice — 11 cents/pound

Beans — 9 cents/quart

Roasted coffee — 42 cents/pound

Brown sugar — 10 cents/pound

Granulated sugar — 10 cents/pound

Molasses — 70 cents/gallon

Soap — 8 cents/pound

Starch — 12 cents/pound

Roasting beef — 19 cents/pound

Soup beef — 7 cents/pound

Beef rump steak — 29 cents/pound

Corned beef — 10 cents/pound

Mutton chops — 15 cents/pound

Pork (fresh) — 12 cents/pound

Pork (salted) — 11 cents/pound

Smoked hams — 13 cents/pound

Sausage — 12 cents/pound

Lard — 13 cents/pound

Butter — 39 cents/pound

Cheese — 17 cents/pound

Potatoes — $1.02/bushel

Milk — 8 cents/quart

Eggs — 30 cents/dozen

Hard wood — $10.19/cord

Pine wood — $7.00/cord

Room and board for men — $5.69/month

Room and board for women — $3.75/month

I took these prices from my great great… grandfather’s almost-daily journal entries for the year 1872. (Apparently he was in the market for a new buggy or wagon because this journal was stuffed with these and other clippings… notice the prices!) As in all his journals, he wrote about things that were happening in the family, what was going on around the town, and always he kept a record of current prices and how much he had paid for everything.



Road wagon (canopy top with rubber side and back curtains, $8 extra) Road wagon (canopy top with rubber side and back curtains, $8 extra)

He kept track of incoming money too… his salary for delivering the mail by stagecoach, the money his wife brought in by selling eggs, butter, and cheese, and the money from cutting and selling firewood. There was money from crops and animals and from boarders too… there was always at least one hired man, and during the school year the teacher lived with them too. It’s interesting reading, and when I get to the end of every journal I always wish he had written even more!

Written by Shirley Filed Under: Glimpse into the Past