Coshocton County, Ohio - Chapter 6: Advancement of County in Wealth, Taxation, Etc, 1876

The wealth of the first settlers of Coshocton county was almost wholly in their bold hearts and brawny arms. Some of them readily carried all their stufi:' in a small watercraft or on horseback. A few of them had in addition their broad, uncleared acres. Many of these were entered with land-warrants at nominal cost. Many acres were bought for from one to three dollars apiece. Even as late as 1830, the farm now occupied by J. W. Dwyer was bought at nine dollars an acre. It had, however, it is only fair to say, been sold for ten dollars, and the lower price above given was owing in part to the depression in lands on the east side of the river, in consequence of the canal having been built upon the other side. About the same time, some good lots in Coshocton were sold at sherifi:''s sale for from six to ten dollars. A few years later, after the bridges had been built, the land again changed hands at fifteen dollars per acre. Some of the early settlers spent the first season in bark or branch huts. The rifle and fishing-line secured much of the subsistence. It is claimed that old Michael Miller lived for weeks upon bear and deer meat, most of the time being even without corn-bread. For many years barter was the only kind of trade, and at first the skins of wild animals entered into it largely.* As late as 1825, the only surplus products of the county were ginseng, maple sugar, honey, bacon, and whisky. But lands were being cleared and improved, and appreciated every year. Do-

* Bear and deer meat occasionally graced the tables of the settlers as late as 1830. Bagnell and Retilley, of Roscoe, about that time traded for many a venison ham at twenty-five cents apiece. Still later, General Burns took a wolf-skin as pay for a marriage-license. Rattlesnakes were never quite so plenty after the exploit of Joseph Williams, who reports himself as having killed eighty -four in the summer of 1812.

mestic stock was increasing rapidly, and soon hogs and cattle were marketed in large numbers. Droves were taken east, and store-goods brought back. After the opening of the Ohio canal, the advancement of the county, in wealth as in population, was quite marked. Even the mineral resources of the county began to be regarded as elements of wealth. Coal was shipped to Newark and Columbus. Flour, bacon, and whisky, and even dried fruits,* became very considerable features of commercial transactions. Then fine cattle and sheep began to count largely. The opening of the railroad gave an impulse to the improvement and advancement of the county unequalled by anything else in its history. Butter and eggs and domestic fowls soon had more in them than would pay all the taxes of the people. Shij)- mentsof coal in an extensive and systematic way began, and, despite occasional interruptions, steadily grew, bringing into the county large sums to flow into other wealthbearing channels. Better buildings were erected in both town and country, and fitted with more costly furniture. f Much improvement was made in farm appliances, the growing scarcity of labor, especially during the war, necessitating these. Manufacturing interests were much enlarged ; and at length when, in 1875, an examination was made by the proper officers, it was found that the valuation for taxation of the real and personal property was $13,672,770. As the valuation in 1850 was only $5,026,561, it appears that even duly allowing for the fact that the later valuation was aflected by the current inflation, the county has in the last twenty-five years more than doubled its wealth ; and this, too, in the face of a diminishing population, as elsewhere noted. Of the total valuation about nine and a half millions are in real, and the other four in personal property. The principal items of the latter are as follows : horses,

* " Johnny Appleseed," an eccentric but far-seeing man, had frequently journeyed from Wheeling to Mansfield, donating his little sacks of seeds, and planting his little nurseries in out-of-the-way places suited for them.

Land subject to taxes was, in the early days, divided into three classes. Of the one hundred and thirty-eight resident land-holders in 1814, only Robert Darling, Isaac Evans, Patrick Miller, James Meskimens, Benjamin Robinson, and Charles "Williams had " lirst class " land. James Meskimens, on one hundred and sixty acres of first class and five hundred and sixty of second class land paid in that year fourteen dollars taxes. Besides the tax on land there were license fees paid into the county treasury for keeping taverns, ferries, and stores. Taxes on personal property were specific, and not according to value. In 1822 horses, mares, mules, and asses were each taxed thirty cents ; neat cattle, ten cents per head, and town-lots one-half per cent, on their returned value.

The taxes collected in 1812, amounted to something over $1,000, of which $260 were paid over to the State. The county treasurer for 1816 reported the collections at $1,319. In 1822, the number of resident tax-payers was 1279. In 1825, the collected tax was $2,932.34, and the delinquent list counted up some $700. The tax collected in 1840 was $23,000. The State tax alone in 1875 was $42,417. The paying of the bonds given by the county and townships for the railroad ; the great improvements in school line ; the construction of half a dozen large and many more small bridges (many of them of iron), and the erection of the new jail and sheriff's house and court-house, have for some years demanded very heavy local taxation. The levy for 1875, for county purposes, was $68,414, and for other local purposes $80,523.

The indebtedness of the county, March 1, 1876, is an inconsiderable sum, and the townships and villages are in debt but a few thousands in the aggregate.