In the mid-1780's the states were asked to contribute money to the  
fed gov't under the Articles of Confederation based on the value of   
land and improvements. This actually created some lists that have  
survived for some Virginia counties and are located at the Library of  
Virginia. Some have dimensions of the buildings and note their  
construction type, but others just list the number of buildings and  
types. There are great inconsistencies. There was also a federal tax  
ca 1798, but I have no evidence at hand of the details. Some of these  
have survived for other states and have been used by architectural  
historians.-Mick Nicholls
On Oct 14, 2008, at 3:11 PM, W. Scott Smith wrote:

> To build on Linda's post, Virginia did not begin separating out the  
> value of
> buildings on a tract of land until 1820. Before that time, my  
> research has
> shown that the value or presence of a house on a given tract had  
> absolutely
> no bearing on the value per acre that was assessed from 1782 to 1819.
>
> We often hear stories of windows, closets, and other things being  
> taxed, but
> I have found no evidence of this. Other states have tax lists which  
> are an
> architectural historian's dream, but Virginia is not one of them.
>
>
> --
> W. Scott Smith, Managing Partner
> The Antiquaries, LC
> Historical Research & Consulting
>
> Office: The Piedmont Center, 311 Rivermont Avenue
> Mailing: P.O. Box 75, Lynchburg, VA 24505
> Office 434-528-3995
> Mobile 434-401-3995
> www.theantiquaries.com
>
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