The following state auditor's reports provide us with a snapshot of Bullitt County in the years just prior to the Civil War.
The following information is transcribed from the Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1859. [Frankfort, Ky., Printed at the Yeoman Office, Jno. B. Major, State Printer, 1860].
NOTE: Because of the nature of the layout, horizontal scrolling will be necessary on smaller screens. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Page 48
BULLITT COUNTY
ITEMS OF TAXATION, &c. Valuation 1859 Valuation 1858 Increase Decrease
144,815 acres of land $1,558,567
173,646 acres of land $1,676,160 $117,593
28,831 decrease in acres
178 town lots 86,178
193 town lots 94,228 8,050
15 decrease in town lots
1,301 total slaves 641,690
1,366 total slaves 653,410 11,720
65 decrease in slaves
2,611 horses and mares 188,619
2,730 horses and mares 179,743 $8,876
119 decrease in horses/mares
183 mules 15,625
237 mules 20,405 4,780
54 decrease in mules
13 jennies 1,440
8 jennies 685 755
5 increase in jennies
5,567 cattle 32,385
5,543 cattle 34,586 2,291
24 increase in cattle
19 stores 27,500
23 stores 26,608 892
4 decrease in stores
Valuation under 368,539
the Equalization Law 413,988 45,449
Total $2,920,543 $3,099,813 $10,523 $189,793
Page 49
BULLITT COUNTY
ITEMS OF TAXATION, &c. For 1859 For 1858
Tax on valuation, at 20 cents per $100 ................ $5,841.09 $6,199.63
Value of pleasure carriages, barouches,
buggies, stage coaches, gigs, omnibuses,
and other vehicles for passengers ....... $10,081.00
Value of gold, silver, and other metallic
watches and clocks ........................ 8,127.00
Value of gold and silver plate .............. 3,994.00
Value of pianos ............................. 3,627.00
Total value ............................... $25,829.00
Tax on the above, at 30 cents per $100 ................ 77.49 82.80
Auditor's list ........................................ 80.15 39.40
Clerk's list .......................................... ----- -----
Total revenue ......................................... $5,998.73 $6,321.83
Decrease of revenue ................................... $323.10
WHITE MALES, &c. For 1859 For 1858
Total number of white males over 21 years old ......... 1,241 1,353
Total number of slaves over 16 years old .............. 583 664
Total number of children between 6 and 18 years old ... 1,534 1,635
Total number of studs, jacks, and bulls -
(rates 1859, $40; rates 1858, $00) .................. 19 21
Total number of tavern licenses ....................... 15 13
Free whites that are blind ............................ -- --
Free whites that are deaf and dumb .................... -- --
Total number of hogs over six months old .............. 10,236 5,995
Pounds of tobacco ..................................... 8,011 -----
Pounds of hemp ........................................ ----- -----
Tons of hay ........................................... 1,959 -----
Bushels of corn ....................................... 404,225 -----
Bushels of wheat ...................................... 42,968 -----
Bushels of barley ..................................... 144 -----
Tons of pig metal ..................................... ----- -----
Tons of bloom ......................................... ----- -----
Tons of bar iron ...................................... ----- -----
LAND REPORTED Acres Value
Land reported by the commissioner of said county
for 1859, as lying in the county of Bullitt ......... 141,097 $1,516,772
Land reported from other counties
as lying in said county ............................. 11,048 93,238
Total land lying in Bullitt County, and value,
(as per returns) .................................... 152,145 $1,610,010
Average value, per acre, for 1859 ..... $10.58
Average value, per acre, for 1858 ..... 9.80
Increase value, per acre .............. $ 0.78
HENRY TRUNNELL, Sheriff of Bullitt County for 1859.
Page 386
BULLITT COUNTY
HEADS OF EXPENDITURES
Commissioners of tax, 1858 ............................ 33.20
Commissioners of tax, 1859 ............................ 138.63
Witnesses' attendance in Commonwealth's cases ......... 78.28
Sheriffs' accounts .................................... 7.40
Marshals' accounts .................................... 12.02
Record books furnished the several clerks' offices .... 13.80
Fees to county court clerks for copying
commissioners' books, 1859 .......................... 36.97
Amount paid by clerks in aid of the jury fund ......... 143.93
For support of idiots ................................. 250.00
Jailers' accounts ..................................... 54.70
Common schools ........................................ 2,010.00
Deficit of jury fund paid by the trustees ............. 113.03
Compensation for killing wild cats .................... 26.00
Trustees' commissions ................................. 18.90
Delinquents and exonerations by court ................. 69.75
Sheriffs' commissions ................................. 305.10
Clerks' commissions ................................... 31.84
Forfeited lands ....................................... 31.50
Total expenditures .................................... 3,375.05
Revenue, &c. chargeable to sheriffs, clerks, &c. ...... 7,518.87
Net Revenue ........................................... 4,143.82
Expenses exceeding the revenue ........................ --------
The following information is transcribed from the Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1860. [Frankfort, Ky., Printed at the Yeoman Office, Jno. B. Major, State Printer, 1861].
Page 50
BULLITT COUNTY
ITEMS OF TAXATION, &c. Valuation 1860 Valuation 1859 Increase Decrease
151,146 acres of land $1,702,004
144,815 acres of land $1,558,567 $143,437
6,331 increase in acres
185 town lots 107,692
178 town lots 86,178 21,514
7 increase in town lots
1,368 total slaves 698,800
1,301 total slaves 641,690 57,110
67 increase in slaves
2,783 horses and mares 197,567
2,611 horses and mares 188,619 $8,948
172 increase in horses/mares
215 mules 16,528
183 mules 15,625 903
32 increase in mules
12 jennies 1,440
13 jennies 1,440 $165
1 decrease in jennies
6,065 cattle 34,342
5,567 cattle 32,385 1,957
498 increase in cattle
20 stores 27,100
19 stores 27,500 400
1 increase in stores
Valuation under 368,064
the Equalization Law 368,539 475
Total $3,153,372 $2,920,543 $233,869 $1,040
Page 51
BULLITT COUNTY
ITEMS OF TAXATION, &c. For 1860 For 1859
Tax on valuation, at 20 cents per $100 ................ $6,306.74 $5,841.09
Value of pleasure carriages, barouches,
buggies, stage coaches, gigs, omnibuses,
and other vehicles for passengers ....... $11,049.00
Value of gold, silver, and other metallic
watches and clocks ....................... 10,603.00
Value of gold and silver plate .............. 4,012.00
Value of pianos ............................. 3,371.00
Total value ............................... $29,035.00
Tax on the above, at 30 cents per $100 ................ 87.10 77.49
Auditor's list ........................................ 35.95 80.15
Clerk's list .......................................... ----- -----
Total revenue ......................................... $6,429.79 $5,998.73
Increase of revenue ................................... $431.06
WHITE MALES, &c. For 1860 For 1859
Total number of white males over 21 years old ......... 1,300 1,241
Total number of slaves over 16 years old .............. 640 583
Total number of children between 6 and 18 years old ... 1,512 1,534
Total number of studs, jacks, and bulls -
(rates 1859, $40; rates 1858, $00) .................. 17 19
Total number of tavern licenses ....................... 11 15
Free whites that are blind ............................ -- --
Free whites that are deaf and dumb .................... -- --
Total number of hogs over six months old .............. 9,063 10,236
Pounds of tobacco ..................................... 7,270 8,011
Pounds of hemp ........................................ ----- -----
Tons of hay ........................................... 1,655 1,959
Bushels of corn ....................................... 414,925 404,225
Bushels of wheat ...................................... 68,045 42,968
Bushels of barley ..................................... 474 144
Tons of pig metal ..................................... ----- -----
Tons of bloom ......................................... ----- -----
Tons of bar iron ...................................... ----- -----
LAND REPORTED Acres Value
Land reported by the commissioner of said county
for 1860, as lying in the county of Bullitt ......... 146,911 $1,637,737
Land reported from other counties
as lying in said county ............................. 7,626 58,296
Total land lying in Bullitt County, and value,
(as per returns) .................................... 154,537 $1,696,033
Average value, per acre, for 1860 ..... $10.97
Average value, per acre, for 1859 ..... 10.58
Increase value, per acre .............. $ 0.39
HENRY TRUNNELL, Sheriff of Bullitt County for 1860.
Page 254
BULLITT COUNTY
HEADS OF EXPENDITURES
Commissioners of tax, 1859 ............................ 34.65
Commissioners of tax, 1860 ............................ 146.09
Witnesses' attendance in Commonwealth's cases ......... 64.30
Sheriffs' accounts .................................... 37.00
Marshals' accounts .................................... 3.60
For support of idiots ................................. 233.33
Jailers' accounts ..................................... 126.80
Pay of Senator and Representatives,
December session, 1859 .............................. 529.58
Revenue refunded for 1859 ............................. 18.76
Common schools ........................................ 2,358.00
Deficit of jury fund paid by the trustees ............. 259.76
Compensation for killing wild cats .................... 2.00
Trustees' commissions ................................. 34.14
Delinquents and exonerations by court ................. 102.31
Sheriffs' commissions ................................. 309.83
Clerks' commissions ................................... 29.71
Total expenditures .................................... 4,289.86
Revenue, &c. chargeable to sheriffs, clerks, &c. ...... 7,357.15
Net Revenue ........................................... 3,067.29
Expenses exceeding the revenue ........................ --------
If you, the reader, have an interest in any particular part of our county history, and wish to contribute to this effort, use the form on our Contact Us page to send us your comments about this, or any Bullitt County History page. We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you feel that we have misspoken at any point, please feel free to point this out to us.
The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 12 Sep 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/auditorreport1859.html
