14 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 294 



country estates offered competition for farm labor by paying higher wages. This 

 condition is more than compensated however, by the fact that the advent of 

 new uses of land gives an opportunity for many local people to obtain profitable 

 employment by working on the improvements and taking care of summer homes 

 and country residences. In addition there is available a profitable local market for 

 the sale of farm produce, especially to the summer residents. This and the contri- 

 bution to taxes in various towns amounts to considerable benefit to the local 

 farming population. 



From the standpoint of the social institutions in small communities, the presence 

 of a large number of people during only a limited season of the year is not always 

 beneficial. The summer residents are not likely to take much interest in local 

 schools and other local institutions. Nevertheless, the financial benefit which 

 accrues to these rural communities from additional taxes and a better market 

 for agricultural commodities results in greater support and improvement of local 

 institutions. 



Importance of Recreational Property in Massachusetts 



Irrespective of the future growth of recreational land utilization, its position 

 is already of considerable importance in Massachusetts communities from the 

 standpoint of real estate valuation and taxation. According to the recent survey 

 by the Massachusetts Industrial Commission, the total value of recreational 

 property in the State amounts to $189,359,000. In the 71 towns included in the 

 present study, with a total value ot real estate of $244,016,030, recreational 

 property amounts to $34,444,272 representing about 14.5 per cent of the valuation 

 and paying the same proportion of total ta.Kes on land and buildings. 



Table 8. — Valuation of Recreational Property in Massachusetts. 



All Towns and Cities 71 Towns in this Study 



Per cent Per cent 



Recreational Property Valuation of Total Valuation of Total 



Non-commercial : 



Owned by Massachusetts residents $115,218,711 60.8 $23,498,977 68.2 



Owned by non-residents 38,209,726 20.2 5.976,029 17.4 



Commercial 35,930,743 19.0 4,969,266 14.4 



Total $189,359,180 100.0 $34,444,272 100.0 



As will be seen from this table, a little over 20 per cent of the non-commercial 

 recreational property in Massachusetts is owned by people residing outside of the 

 State, and 19 per cent is represented by commercial recreational property, such 

 as summer hotels, golf courses, boys' and girls' camps, roadside camps and cottages, 

 etc. From the standpoint of values, the recreational property is especially signi- 

 ficant in the sections near the shore. As compared with this the inland towns with 

 their scenery, lakes and country surroundings do not reach the same degree of 

 development. 



Among the individual inland sections Berkshire County occupies the most 

 important place in its recreational development of land resources, but it is far 

 behind Essex County, the most important on the basis of valuation. The high 

 valuation in this county is not surprising when we consider that some of the in- 

 dividual towns on the coast are almost entirely devoted to recreational purposes. 



