The Price of Survival in 1880s Snohomish
A look at the commodities and labor costs that defined life in the frontier settlement of Snohomish City.
SNOHOMISH CITY MARKET REPORT: STOCK: Milch cows, per head, $25.00 @ $50.00; Work oxen, per yoke, $80.00 @ $125.00; Beef cattle, on foot, 3c to 4c; Horses, per head, $30.00 @ $100.00; Sheep, per head, $2.50 @ $3.50; Hogs, on foot, 4c to 5c. GRAIN, PROVISIONS, ETC.: Bacon, per lb., 15c @ 18c; Pork, per lb., 12c; Chickens, per doz., $3.00 @ $4.50; Eggs, per doz., 25c @ 30c; Flour, per sack, $3.00; Wheat, per bush., $1.00 @ $1.25; Butter, per lb., 25c @ 30c; Potatoes, per bush., 50c @ 75c; Hay, per ton, $10.00 @ $12.00; Lumber, per M, $8.00; Shingles, per M, $2.50; Logs, per M, $3.00 @ $5.00.
“Prices to suit the times.”
This market snapshot reveals a local economy tethered to the land and the river, where the cost of a cow could equal several months of labor. Today's Snohomish has moved from a resource-extraction hub to a suburban center, yet the struggle to balance the cost of living against local wages remains a fundamental thread of the town's history.
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