Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Petersburg (Va.) Land Tax Books, 1820-1871. Local government records collection, City of Petersburg Land Tax Books. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer under accession number 52919

Historical Information

Petersburg was formed from parts of Dinwiddie, Prince George, and Chesterfield Counties. A garrison and fur-trading post called Fort Henry was established there in 1645 on the site of the Indian village Appamattuck. The present name, suggested in 1733 by William Byrd II, honors Peters Jones, Byrd's companion on expeditions into the Virginia backcountry. Petersburg was established in 1747 and incorporated as a town in 1784. In the latter year the towns of Blandford, Pocahontas, and Ravenscroft were added to Petersburg. It was incorporated as a city in 1850. Petersburg was enlarged by annexation from both Prince George and Dinwiddie Counties in 1972.

In 1782 the General Assembly of Virginia enacted a major revision of the tax laws of the commonwealth. The act provided for statewide enumeration on the county level of land and certain personal property. The act created a permanent source of revenue for the operation of government in Virginia. The county courts were directed to divide each locality into precincts and to appoint “commissioners” to collect the tax. Taxes were assessed between March and April of each year and were payable by the end of December. The commissioners prepared four copies of the land tax books. Copies were prepared for the commissioner, county clerk, sheriff, and Auditor of Public Accounts.

Scope and Content

Petersburg (Va.) Land Tax Books, 1820-1871, may include the following entries arranged in columns: name of owner and residence; estate (whether held in fee simple for life, etc.) as well as number of acres and name of tract; description of the land, as to water courses, mountains, and contiguous tracts; value of the land, including buildings, sum added to the land on account of buildings, and the total values of the land and buildings; amount of tax on the whole tract at the legal rate and amount of tax for county purposes; explanation of alterations during the preceding year, especially from whom transferred and when and how the owner derived the land.

Related Material

Additional City of Petersburg records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Petersburg (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Public records--Virginia--Petersburg, City of.

Geographical Names:

• Petersburg (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--Petersburg, City of.

Adjunct Descriptive Data