🔥 Two Bits a Rake: Firewood Prices and Purpose in East Texas During the 1920s
Back in the 1920s, long before gas lines snaked their way through towns and electric heaters buzzed in every room, firewood was still king in East Texas. Folks didn’t just use it for ambiance or weekend cookouts—it was a daily necessity. Whether you were boiling laundry water, keeping warm through a Piney Woods winter, or stoking the pit for a pot of beans, firewood fueled daily life.
💰 The Cost of Firewood in the 1920s
So, what did firewood cost back then? Based on old newspaper clippings and records from rural East Texas counties like Angelina, Nacogdoches, and Smith, a “rick” or “cord” of wood sold for anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50, depending on the season, the split, and the kind of wood.
To put it in perspective:
A “rick” (about a third of a true cord) might’ve gone for around 25 to 50 cents.
A full cord (4x4x8 feet of tightly stacked wood) could fetch $1 to $1.50, especially in the colder months.
In towns, if you had it delivered by mule wagon or truck, you might pay extra—maybe a nickel or dime more per load.
Compare that to a day’s wages back then—most working folks made $1 to $2 a day, so firewood was a real chunk of the household budget.
🌲 What Kind of Wood Was Used?
East Texas is covered in trees, but not all wood burns the same. In the 1920s, the main types of firewood used were:
Post Oak: Known for its steady, clean burn. A favorite for heating homes and cooking on wood stoves.
Hickory: Hard to split but worth it—hot, long-lasting coals. Folks loved it for smoking meats.
Pine: Plentiful and easy to split, but burned quick and smoky. Mostly used for kindling or short burns.
Blackjack Oak & Elm: Cheaper woods used when times were tight.
If you had the money, you got oak or hickory. If times were lean, you burned whatever would catch fire.
🪓 What Was It Used For?
In the 1920s, firewood wasn’t just a luxury—it was a lifeline:
Home Heating: Wood-burning stoves and fireplaces heated the home. Folks often had to gather enough wood to last the entire winter by fall.
Cooking: Wood stoves were still standard in rural homes. People knew how to cook a roast, boil coffee, and bake biscuits all from fire control.
Laundry: Water had to be heated over a fire for washing clothes or bathing.
Smokehouses: Hickory and oak were prized for smoking hams, sausages, and jerky.
Schoolhouses and Churches: Many one-room buildings had a central wood stove for warmth.
🪵 The Cultural Connection
Wood wasn’t just fuel—it was part of the rhythm of life. Families chopped and stacked it together. Boys learned to split kindling before they could write their names. And there was always that one uncle who claimed he could smell if the wood was “green.”
Final Thought
Nowadays, firewood is more of a weekend pleasure than a survival necessity—but at TPOST Firewood, we like to think we’re keeping that old East Texas spirit alive. Quality wood, honest work, and the smell of hickory in the air—some things never go out of style.
