Before the arrival of the railroad on January 1, 1887, prices for groceries, travel, and nearly everything else were astonishingly high, and travel times were lengthy.
Here are some staple food items and what they would cost at today’s (2026) prices:
Thinking about serving breakfast? Coffee sold for the equivalent of $14.31 per pound. A 5-pound bag of flour would cost $19. A pound of bacon was nearly $12, and the price of a dozen eggs was heart-stopping at nearly $120! The price of chicken meat wasn’t even considered. After all, who would slaughter a hen when she was laying a $10 bill at every “buck-buck-buck—ba-DAAACK”?
A pound of butter? Nearly $32! Sixteen ounces of syrup was almost $14, and 12 ounces of honey was nearly $9. A pound of lard was over $11, and a pound of cheese sold for nearly $16.
$47.70 would buy either 5 pounds of sugar or 16 ounces of tea.
A pound of salt cost $4.77, a pound of beef $5.72, and a pound of pork $9.54.
Five pounds of cornmeal or barley was $14.30, and a pound of beans was $2.54.
Travelling Times by Stage
If one were going to Phoenix today, it would be best to schedule 2 hours. In 1877, there were two stagecoaches driving to Phoenix. The stage that went through Wickenburg and the Vulture Mine would get one to Phoenix after 39 hours. The stage that went through Gillett was faster, needing only 27 hours. If one was continuing to Maricopa, it would require an additional 8 hours.
Today, driving to San Bernardino, CA, would require up to six hours via I-10. In 1877, it would require 6 days.
Most stage lines did not publish their prices, but one did, and it offers insight into the prices in general. An 1877 trip between Prescott and Hardyville (now Bullhead City) would cost the equivalent of $974 today.
BONUS: Real Estate Prices 100 Years Ago
Real estate listings in the newspaper often did not list prices, but in 1920, Thomas Hines, whose office was located on Whiskey Row, advertised prices for a variety of houses and land. The prices given here are in today’s money for comparison.
A two-acre lot with a 3-room home in Miller Valley listed for $1600, which is $27,682 in today’s money.
A 7-room house close to downtown in the western section of town was a bargain at $2000, which would only be $34,602 today—less than many new cars.
Building lots starting at $125 would only be $2162 today.
Two homes on one Pleasant Street lot—one 5-room furnished house with a sleeping porch; the other home had 4 rooms. It was listed for $5500 or $95,158 today.
On the west side, one could purchase a “modern” house on two lots with coal and wood sheds for $2500, or $43,253 today.
In the Chinese Gardens, one could buy a 4-acre lot for $2400, or $41,523 today
80 Acres in Miller Valley “containing some of the best land in the Chinese Gardens,” which could be split into 1- or half-acre lots, was listed. “Big money making opportunity for some shrewd buyer,” the ad announced. The asking price was $20,000. In today’s money, that’s a paltry $346,029 or $4325 an acre.
A description and over 14 images take the reader back to when Prescott was merely 6 years old.
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SOURCES:
Arizona Weekly Miner, 2/9/1877; Pg. 3, Col. 3.
Weekly Journal-Miner, 1/14/1903; Pg. 3, Col. 7.
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