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Story
November 25, 1909
The Jeffersonian
Thomson, Atlanta, Mcduffie County, Fulton County, Georgia
What is this article about?
Personal anecdote on a Georgia land deed from 1857, repurchased in 1877 at lower price, sold later; notes post-Civil War decline in Southern farm values versus pre-war, extending to New England. (178 chars)
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
A Certain Piece of Land
Looking over some old chains-of-title, a few days ago, I chanced upon a deed to some land which John Harris, of Dearing, Ga. sold to my grandfather, in 1857.
The eighty acres cost $1,000.
In 1877, I repurchased this land, which had passed out of the family many years before.
The price paid by me was four dollars per acre.
A few years ago, I sold it, on ten years' time, at ten dollars per acre.
The present holder has improved it greatly. and would probably demand somewhat more for it than when my grandfather bought it half-a-century ago.
The average Southern farm, several miles away from the railroad, seldom sells for as much as it brought before the War. While I was at the bar, I negotiated many a loan for the rural proprietors, and had to examine hundreds of old conveyances. I was very much struck by the fact that the ante-bellum deeds recited larger considerations than the property would now fetch. This, of course, applies to the country place, proper, some six or eight miles from town.
Throughout New England, as well as throughout the South, you can buy thousands of farms for less than the improvements are worth.
Looking over some old chains-of-title, a few days ago, I chanced upon a deed to some land which John Harris, of Dearing, Ga. sold to my grandfather, in 1857.
The eighty acres cost $1,000.
In 1877, I repurchased this land, which had passed out of the family many years before.
The price paid by me was four dollars per acre.
A few years ago, I sold it, on ten years' time, at ten dollars per acre.
The present holder has improved it greatly. and would probably demand somewhat more for it than when my grandfather bought it half-a-century ago.
The average Southern farm, several miles away from the railroad, seldom sells for as much as it brought before the War. While I was at the bar, I negotiated many a loan for the rural proprietors, and had to examine hundreds of old conveyances. I was very much struck by the fact that the ante-bellum deeds recited larger considerations than the property would now fetch. This, of course, applies to the country place, proper, some six or eight miles from town.
Throughout New England, as well as throughout the South, you can buy thousands of farms for less than the improvements are worth.
What sub-type of article is it?
Biography
Historical Event
What themes does it cover?
Fortune Reversal
Misfortune
What keywords are associated?
Land Transactions
Southern Farms
Post War Economy
Price Decline
Ante Bellum Deeds
What entities or persons were involved?
John Harris
Narrator's Grandfather
Narrator
Where did it happen?
Dearing, Ga.
Story Details
Key Persons
John Harris
Narrator's Grandfather
Narrator
Location
Dearing, Ga.
Event Date
1857, 1877
Story Details
Narrator recounts purchasing land originally bought by grandfather from John Harris in 1857 for $1000 (80 acres), repurchasing it in 1877 for $4 per acre after it left family, and selling it years later for $10 per acre; reflects on post-war decline in Southern land values compared to ante-bellum prices and similar trends in New England.