The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1916-11-10
The EFFECT OF
GOOD ROADS.
selling Price Of Tillable Farm Land
'nereases More than Total Cost
of improvements.


The Weekly News Letter from the
department Of Agriculture, Wash
ington, says:
10 determine as far as possible the
exact dollars and cents effect on a
county of the improvement of had
roads, specialists of the Office of
Public Roads and Rural Engineering
OF the department made economic
surveys in eight counties in each of
the years from 1910 to 1915, inclus-
i've. ,
inns study of the increase in the
values OF farm lands in the eight
counties reveals the rather interest
ing fact that following the improve.
meht OF the main market roads the
in;rease in the selling price of till
aoie farm lands served by the roads
mas amounted to from n to three
sinaes the total cost of the improve
ments. The increase in values in
those instances which were recorded
ranged from GO per zen to 80 per
cent in Spotsylvania county, Va:
from GO to 1914 in Dinwiddie county
va; 70 to 80 in Lee county, Va; Is
to 100 in Wise county, Va; 9 to ia
IN Franklin county, N. Y; so to 100
IN Dallas county, Ala; 25 to SO in
La~uderdale county, Miss; and from
81 to 100 in Mantee county, Fla.
The estimates of increase were based
Tor the most part UPON the territory
within a distance OF l mile on each
sidH of the roads improved.
In Spotsylvania county a careful
record was made in 1910 of 35 farms
located on the road selected for i'm
rrovement. OF the Z farms sold in
1912 the prices actually paid show
increases of from 81 to 116 per cent
over the 1910 valuation. The
age value after the roads were i'm
proved was $28.26 per acre, as COM
pared with $17.31 previous to the i'm
provement. In 1913 four transfers
of farm land were on the basis of
$3O.11 per acre, whereas the proper
ties were listel in 1910 at only $3.50
per acre. 1t appears that the 1,451
acres sold in 1914 increased in value
$28,500, or 80 per cent, or from
pS1'1V ~ pff'1O per dCIc.
In Dinwiddie county, Va, the ac-
tual price of As farms sold or offered
for sale from 1909 to 1914 ranged in
price from $8.3S to SABA per acre
before the roads were built, and
from $24.70 to $3.50 per acre after
the roads were improved.
In Lee county, Va, a study of
oio,ht <roo<c o1ouo kbo ~0oJc koforo
and after Improvement indicated
that these properties increased about
1923 per acre, or about 70 per cent.
In Wise county, Va, a study of
eight representative farms located
on roads showed that they increased
in value from an average of $49.O6
per acre before Improvement to
$79.44 after the roads were i'm
proved. There were increases in
valuation in other sections of from
$50 to 500 or even 500 per acre.
In Franklin county, N. Y, the
figures seem to indicate that the
change from earth, sandy and loan
roads to bituminous macadam was
followed by increases averaging
$3.50 per acre, or about 30.7 per
cent.
In Dallas county, Ala, careful in
vestigation seemed to indicate that
road Improvement has added at least
So to each acre of land within a half
mile Of improved roads. Tracts sold
at from SO to $40 per acre were
sold again after road improvement
at from $40 to $25 per acre..
In Lauderdale county, Miss, the
total assessed valuation of real prop
erty outside of the city was $2,757,-
SAG. This increased in 1914 after
road improvement to S3.1S3,8O9, or
15.4 per cent. Local real estate men
place the increase in land values on
account of improved roads at from
25 to SO per cent.
In Mantee county, Fla, careful
study of sales and real estate records
indicated that the Improvement OF
roads has added from Is to 100 per
cent, OF at least SIS per acre. to the
selling price of all lands within one
half mile of improved roads. This
would give a total of $611.0O0, or
more than twice the value of the
bonds issued.