Costs of Starting a Farm in Illinois in 1843
Excerpt from Eight Months in Illinois by William Oliver
(originally published in 1843; SIU Press, 2002
Cost of Buying, Fencing, and Improving 80 Acres of Land in Randolph County, Illinois
| Purchasing 80 acres of land at 1 dollar 25 cents per acre | 100.00 |
| Making 10,000 rails at 1 dollar per 100 | 100.00 |
| Hauling (same) 3 miles | 80.00 |
| Building (rail fence) at 1 dollar per day | 12.00 |
To put 80 acres into fields of 20 acres requiring half the quantity of ring fence |
96.00 |
| Planting sod corn requiring about one bushel to 4 acres at 30 cents per bushel | 6.00 |
| Breaking up 80 acres at 2 dollars 50 per acre | 200.00 |
| Sowing with wheat in the fall, one bushel of wheat per acre, at 80 cents per bushel | 64.00 |
| Sower, six days, at 1 dollar per day | 6.00 |
Harrowing 12 days, at 1 dollar 50c. per day |
18.00 |
| Cutting, hauling home, and setting up corn, at 1 dollar 50c. per acre |
120.00 |
| Harvesting wheat, at 1 dollar 25 cents an acre |
100.00 |
| Hauling and stacking do. At 57 cents per acre | 45.60 |
| Thrashing by small thrashing mill hauled about the country; and which thrashes 100 bushels per day, at 6 ¼ cents a bushel; allowing the ground to have produced 22 bushels an acre | 110.00 |
Hauling to market a day's journey, or from 25 to 30 miles, at 12 ½ cents per bushel |
220.00 |
Total expenditures |
1277.60 |
Value of Produce Raised from 80 Acres of Land During Two Seasons with One Ploughing and Harrowing
80 acres of sod corn, 30 bushels per acre at 30 cents per bushel 720.00
80 acres of wheat producing 22 bushels per acre at 80 cents per bushel 1408.00
Deduct outlay for building 439.77 ½
Deduct outlay for land, fencing, etc. 1277.60
Total income 2128.00
Net profit after expenses 410.62 1/2
In addition, a farmer who labored himself would also need the following:
| 1 pair of trained oxen | 55.00 |
| Waggon, plough, and gear for oxen | 100.00 |
| Axe | 1.75 |
| Wedges | 1.00 |
Total |
157.75 |
Comparative prices in Illinois for the years 1830, 1837, and 1840:
| Product | 1830 | 1837 | 1840 |
| Wheat, per bushel |
.50 | 1.25 | .80 |
| Indian corn, per bushel | .21 | .50 | .36 ¼ |
| Oats, per bushel | .35 | .50 | .36 ¼ |
| Castor oil beans, per bushel | .75 | 1.13 | 1.25 |
| Good horses, each | 55.00 | 120.00 | 120.00 |
| Cows, per head | 8.00 | 17.00 | 15.00 |
| Work oxen, a pair | 45.00 | 70.00 | 55.00 |
| Three-year-old steers | 11.00 | 18.00 | 18.00 |
| Three-year-old heifers | 10.00 | 18.00 | 16.00 |
| Beef, per hundred pounds | 2.00 | 3.75 | 4.50 |
| Pork, per hundred pounds | 2.00 | 3.75 | 3.00 |
| Mutton, per pound | - | - | .6 1/4 |