Historical Museum

Coffee mill and washing agitator

The red machine on the left is a coffee mill that was used for store use. Depending on the model, it required 50-75 turns to grind one pound of coffee.

Coffee beans came green or roasted. Most customers like to roast their own coffee. Green beans were sold in 40 and 50 pound bags. It was roasted at home in the cook stove or in a special coffee roaster. Then it was ground in a coffee grinder. Names like O.G. Java, Private Garden Growth, Arabian Mocha, and Rio were popular brands of green beans.

Roasted coffee beans could also be bought in smaller 1-pound bags, but the quality varied. Sometimes the beans would be a mix of green and roasted beans, which often shriveled after being on shelf for a while. The Arbuckle Brothers, in Pennsylvania, however, found a way to seal in flavor in 1869 by coating coffee beans with a mixture of egg white and sugar. They continued to improve their product, making it a popular pioneer item in the store. It cost 20 cents a pound in 1897.

The first ground coffee was put in a tin can in 1878.

The item on the right is a washing agitator. It went into a washtub and agitated the soapy water just like the center agitator in a modern washing machine. Guess who did the agitating?