The Type of Stoves Sold in 1880s
In 1880, residents in Cache County, Utah bought heavy cast-iron wood- and coal-burning cookstoves and heating/parlor stoves. Shipped via the Utah Northern Railroad and sold through cooperative mercantile institutions like the Logan Cooperative Mercantile Institution (LCMI), these heavy metal appliances replaced open-hearth cooking. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Types and Features
- Cast-Iron Cookstoves: Large, weighing 400 to 600 pounds, featuring multiple boiling lids, an integrated oven box with a door, and a connected stovepipe. [1, 2]
- Parlor and Heating Stoves: Smaller, ornate cast-iron cylinders or box designs used strictly for ambient room heat in homes and local schoolhouses. [1, 2, 3]
- Multi-use Utility: Cookstoves doubled as water heaters, flatiron pre-heaters, and room heaters. [1]
Common Era Brands & Manufacturing
- Major National Makers: Stoves distributed throughout the American West in 1880 commonly originated from prominent midwestern and eastern foundries like the Excelsior Manufacturing Company (makers of Charter Oak), Comstock-Castle, and various New York or Boston ironworks. [1, 2, 3]
- Local Supply Chains: Manufactured goods and heavy iron equipment were hauled via rail connection lines through Corinne and Ogden into Cache Valley’s regional merchant hubs in Logan and Smithfield. [1, 2]
