Looking Back: ​City Taxes - 13-cents

by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society
 
  
Seven years ago, I returned to Grain Valley full-time after my House Director gig at a Mizzou fraternity. I vowed that I would devote one day each week to the Grain Valley Historical Society. My goal was to spend a few months sorting through the photos and artifacts and get the museum “in order.” Seven years later, I would love to have the museum “in order!” It is an ongoing challenge as new gifts arrive all of the time.
 
But I’m totally off my topic. There was lots of “stuff” in cabinets and boxes that needed to be sorted. Some items, while interesting, had nothing to do with our town. They were given to other societies or trashed. Some items were real treasures, and I was able to get them catalogued and on displayed in a relatively short amount of time. And then, there were the items that definitely pertained to Grain Valley, but would anyone care?
 
Today’s article is about two such items; two small boxes I found on the shelf in the back room. I have no clue as to where they came from or how they came to be at the Historical Society. One member seems to recall that they were found in the attic of an old house on Walnut Street when it was sold. We may never really know.
 
I find the contents interesting today, because the two small boxes, approximately 5” x 7” x 2”, contain the City of Grain Valley Tax records for 1929. With all of the uproar regarding our 2023 tax assessments, I thought you might like to know what taxes were in 1929.

According to his name on the receipt books and the bank deposit books, Albert Hoehn was the city collector and the money collected was sent to the Bank of Grain Valley. It is only a city tax, not a county or state tax. It would be interesting to know how the funds were spent. Of course, there is no mention of school tax or library tax, or police or fire protection. Maybe that’s a topic for further research on my part.
 
At any rate, while you are looking at your current tax assessment, think about some of these bills.

• Loring Hardware: Merchants tax $16.50; property tax for Lot 19, $3.25; W ½ of Lot 32, $1.13; Lot 33, $. .45; W 29  ½ feet of W ½ Lot 35, $ .13; W ½ of 37, $ .20.
• Bank of Grain Valley: Merchants Tax and Lot 12, $35.83.
• Dierks & Sons Lumber Co: Merchants Tax on GV on Lots 13-18.  $  9.15
• Frost, A.M.: Merchants Tax (Frost owned a grocery store)    $  4.25
• Heidelberger, August:  Davis Place, Lot 8, 9, 15 & 16     $  3.06 (300 block on Front Street)
• Johnston, W. B.: Finnell’s addition, lot 1, 2 & 3.   $  2.47 (prior to 1909, this was the location of the Grain Valley School
• Chiddix, Wade: Yennie’s Addition, lot 35.    $  1.53
• Church, Emma : Wyatt’s Addition, lot 9, 10, ½ of 11  $  2.01
• Costigan, Dennis: Davis Place, lot 10, Warren Addition, lot 4.   $  2.06 (300 block on Front Street)

 
How about thirteen cents for the W ½ of lot 35 which is east of Cypress St. just N. of the railroad track.  How did they ever come up with these numbers? If you are curious about what the taxes were on your lot in old Grain Valley in 1929, stop by the Historical Society and look them up! I doubt if they would help you much at the assessment office today, but they might be good for a laugh. And after you pay your taxes in December, you may need a good laugh, or cry!  

Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society