62 INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



lands were held by locations of Indian reservations & 

 floating pre-emption rights, were assessed some of them 

 as high Twenty Dollars an acre. The same lands will not 

 now sell for as many cents an acre 



At the first election for justice under the organisation, 

 one Peyton Russel was elected in North Township; Milo 

 Robinson & Horace Taylor in Centre & E. W. Bryant in 

 South Township. The first lived at Liverpool & like the 

 town has gone to parts unknown — the second died Janu- 

 ary 1st, 1839, the 3d has moved from the county,^ and the 

 latter is alive & shaking ; or at least was so a short time 

 since with the ague. 



At the August election, Luman A. Fowler was elected 

 Sheriff and Robert Wilkinson, Probate Judge. 



During this summer there were a good many new set- 

 tlers come in — and several frame buildings were put up ; 

 one of the first of which is the frame part of the house 

 where Mr. Pelton now lives; which was built by my 

 brother & myself who were then in partnership, to ac- 

 comodate the public and was for several years the only 

 tavern house here. 



We also built the log building which has ever since been 

 occupied as a court house & place of worship &c. 



It will be as well here to recur to some facts connected 

 with this assessment, as profitable for reflection. The 

 number of acres on the first assessment roll was 8726, 

 valued in total at $77,787 ; a fraction less, on an average, 

 than $9 an acre; the tax upon which amounted to $894. 

 There was but little if any improvements on these lands 

 at that time. There were 409 town lots in Liverpool, 

 assessed at $26,440 too much by just three of the left 

 hand figures — some say four — There were 226 polls, and 

 23 over age, making 249 persons assessed for taxation. 

 The poll tax amounted to $282.50. The value of personal 

 property $45,368. But the same spirit of high values 



* Horace Taylor was in Wisconsin for several years, but later 

 returned to Lake County, went to California in 1849, and was 

 killed in an Indian massacre on the return trip. Letter of Arthur G. 

 Taylor to Herbert A. Kellar, July 12, 1929. 



