This project will produce the first sample of the nineteenth century service sector. It will produce a data set containing economic and demographic data on middlemen who operated businesses in 89 counties in 10 North Central States during the 1860-1880 period. Names of proprietors and locations of businesses will be collected from statewide business directories and linked to the manuscript censuses of population, agriculture, and manufacturing. Completion of the project will provide quantitative and consistent evidence on changes in the marketing sector of the Midwest during the period when the practice of standard grading and the use forward contracts on grain were spreading. The data promise to add a new dimension to our understanding of the economic development of the Midwest and offer long term research opportunities to scholars in economics, history and other social sciences.
