Carthage, Missouri in the 1870s (2000 Exhibit Excerpt)

In just a few years after Carthage, Missouri was resettled afther the Civil War, 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

One development that was encouraging the settlement of southwest Missouri and Carthage duruing the 1870s was the growth of the lead and zinc mining industry.  In an 1874 booklet (held by the Carthage Public Library) promoting the industry come the following advertisements.

1874 Jasper County Immigration Society Advertisement 

1874 Jasper Mining & Smelting Company Advertisement

1874 Eagle Works (Foundry) of Carthage Advertisement

New York Times newspaper article of May 28, 1873 reviewing a ride on the new railroad line coming to Carthage, Missouri.