The Jan. 4, 1869 edition of the Illinois State Journal included a section headlined “Our City: Its Population and Progress” that recorded a wide range of economic statistics. Here is some of what the Journal reported.
Few even of our own people are aware of the number of manufactories now in operation in this city. The following table gives a list of manufacturers licensed by the United States Assessor:
Artificial limbs – 1
Bakers – 7
Bookbinders – 4
Boiler makers – 1
Boots and shoes – 23
Brewers – 6
Broom manufacturers – 2
Brick makers – 3
Carriage and wagon manufacturers – 6
Cigar and tobacco manufacturers – 9
Clothing manufacturers – 10
Confectioners – 10
Coopers – 1
Flour manufacturers – 8
Foundries – 3
Furniture – 6
Harness – 8
Hats and caps – 4
Lightning rods – 1
Marble workers – 2
Plumbers and gas fitters – 8
Printing establishments – 6
Pumps – 1
Rectifiers and liquor compounders – 7
Sash and doors – 2
Soda water – 1
Spices – 1
Stencil plates – 1
Tinware – 7
Trunks – 1
Vinegar – 1
Woolen – 1
Yeast – 1
Miscellaneous – 11
The newspaper went on to list some of Springfield’s “leading occupations and professions.”
The well-known reputation of our city for morality and good order is attested by the presence of sixty-six lawyers, whose united efforts cannot fail to maintain that high reputation.
To guard and watch over the health of our citizens, we have forty-two physicians and surgeons, while eight dentists find employment in taking care of our teeth.
Seven architects and nine artists help to promote a taste for the esthetic – the works of the former adding beauty to our public and private edifices, while that of the latter adorn our homes. …
We have fifty-four wholesale dealers, who find a large and profitable business in supplying the retailers of the city and surrounding towns; which three hundred and twenty-eight retail dealers supply our citizens with all necessaries. …
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