{"id":246,"date":"2018-05-27T20:06:39","date_gmt":"2018-05-28T03:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/db745daf2d.nxcli.net\/smalltowns\/?p=246"},"modified":"2018-08-21T13:57:21","modified_gmt":"2018-08-21T20:57:21","slug":"there-is-a-chicken-in-the-pot-and-two-buggies-in-the-barn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theimmers.com\/smalltowns\/there-is-a-chicken-in-the-pot-and-two-buggies-in-the-barn\/","title":{"rendered":"There is a chicken in the pot and two buggies in the barn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steel, steam, and agriculture paved the road to prosperity in the Gilded Age for late 19th century American families. Illinois farmers near St Louis connected to growing markets for crops and dairy products via the Eads Bridge, the developing railroads system, and Mississippi River commerce.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Decks Prairie Illinois dairy farmer 1915. Success means two buggies.<\/strong>
One for work and one for going to town.<\/strong>
Phot0 edit by Rodger 2008.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The family farm that I came to know and love in the 1940s and 1950s became a profitable business enterprise during the 1890s. The expanding economy and technological developments during the 19th century paved the road to success.<\/p>\n

Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, received his steamboat pilot’s license in 1859, 3 years before my great grandfather was born. The Eads Bridge<\/a> over the Mississippi River, connecting Illinois and Missouri by train, was completed in 1874 when he was 12. The population of the Midwest region of the United States was growing in step with the Western expansion and the transportation infrastructure. City history statistics and United States census data show the rapid population increase. Saint Louis, Missouri population increased from 5000 in 1828 to 350000 in 1874 when the Eads Bridge was completed.<\/p>\n

At the cusp of world changing technologies<\/h2>\n

The Eads Bridge construction made innovative use of steel and engineering design. The train crossing enabled huge transportation efficiencies compared to the boat ferry systems. The transportation improvement impacted the economies of several states. The St Louis parade to celebrate the completion of the bridge was 14 miles long. This innovation in engineering and construction exemplifies one incident in the Gilded Age of American prosperity. The short term impact was much greater than some of the other better known technical innovations such as electricity. Towns and neighborhoods implemented electricity in small steps during the next 2 decades.<\/p>\n

There are no taxes<\/h2>\n

The Eads Bridge project took place long before there was an income tax. Income taxes became law in 1913. There were local regulations for construction on the Mississippi River to overcome. The ferries industry lobbied for restrictions on design that made the construction impossible with current technology.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Fred Immer family in 1902 after move to new<\/strong>
house on Decks’s Prairie Illinois<\/strong>
Photo edit by Rodger 2005<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

A farm owner in the late 19th century was a business man and an entrepreneur. Farmers\u00a0 invested profits in machinery or expanding the acreage of the farm. Innovations in\u00a0 manufacturing and food processing provided venture capital investment opportunities. 100 local businessmen and farmers in Highland, Illinois, including my great grandfather, capitalized the Pet Milk company with $100 investments. There was little regulatory review for business creation.<\/p>\n

Keeping up with the Joneses<\/h2>\n
\"\"

Deck’s Prairie 2nd house Fred Immer family 1915.<\/strong>
Photo edit by Rodger 2012.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

This phrase describes the developing economy of the 1950s. Families with increasing incomes were buying new cars and moving to new houses in the suburbs. Their neighbors, referred to in the national media as the Joneses, since Smith and Jones were common names, were doing the same thing.<\/p>\n

In 1900, when this family moved into their new house, this area in Southern Illinois was predominantly Swiss German. Names like Weder and Supiger measured the growing prosperity. During the 1928 presidential campaign Herbert Hoover described prosperity as ” a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage”. These profiles of prosperity were part of the national culture and used for comparisons in your neighborhood.<\/p>\n

My great grandfather constructed a 2 story 2000 square foot house on the other end of the farm in 1900 and moved out of the much smaller log house he had built in 1885. Automobiles were not yet in common use. The nearby town of Highland, Illinois was only 2 miles. It would take almost as long to hitch up the horses as it would to walk to town. Riding in a buggy drawn by a matched team of horses, as shown in the first photograph on this page, demonstrated a level of class and success. He fished regularly in Silver Creek on the other side of his farm but occasionally drove several miles to fish in larger creeks.<\/p>\n

The Gilded Age<\/h2>\n

This period of American history is not a common topic in American History classes.\u00a0 Technology and economics in this age\u00a0 caused the greatest increase in standard of living the world has ever experienced. The description, Gilded Age is applied to the decades from 1870s through 1890s. This link is a summary of the big picture of 19th century American prosperity<\/a>. The wages of industrial workers increased by 48% from 1880 to 1890.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steel, steam, and agriculture paved the road to prosperity in the Gilded Age for late 19th century American families. Illinois farmers near St Louis connected to growing markets for crops and dairy products via the Eads Bridge, the developing railroads … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-american-history-connections","category-family-economic-values"],"yoast_head":"\nThere is a chicken in the pot and two buggies in the barn - Small Town Culture in the 50s<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Steel, steam, and agriculture paved the road to the Gilded Age in 19th century America. 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