The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1939-06-15
ASHE IS OUT OF LINE


In comparison with all other counties
in North Carolina, Ashe county is in class
by itself, at the extreme bottom of the list,
in assessed tax valuation, per population
and area.
There is not single county in the state
with only half the population of Ashe, that
has as low tax valuation and there are
around 80 counties that are not as large in
population that have much higher valua-
ton and eight counties about the same size
whose valuations average over $1O,OOO,OOO.
Our authority for these statements comes
from financial survey prepared by o.
car Burnett and Company, of Raleigh,
Greensboro and Charlotte.
Those are startling facts, aren't they?
Let's take look at the figures. The 1880
census gave Davie county population of
only 1896 and yet the valuation is over
$14OOO,O0O. Orange county had 21,171 peo-
ple and valuation of over $13,OOOOO0.
Scotland county had 20,174 people and a
valuation of over eleven million. Curri-
tuck, down on the coast, had only 6,7lO
people and yet valuation of nearly five
million Gates county, with 1851 people
showed a valuation of nearly five million.
Mitchell, mountain county, had l3,9o2
people and valuation of over six million.
Yadkin county, purely a rural county with
only 1900 people, had valuation OF near
ly eight million Hoke county, 1924 peo-
pie. had a valuation of over seven million.
Lee county, 1896 people valuation of over
ten million Bladen county, 22,389 people,
valuation over ten million. Stokes coun-
ty, frequently referred to as the poorest
county in the state, has 22,29O people and
a valuation of over eight million. Polk, an
other mountain county with only 1925
people, had a valuation of over five mil
lion. Caswell, another rural county, with
1922 people, has valuation of over sew
en- million. Madison county, mountains
again, 20305 people, valuation of over sew
en- million, Carteret county, $1,000 people,
valuation nearly ten million. Macon coun-
ty, 1853 people, valuation of over five
million And so on down the line.
What does Ashe county have? The 1880
census gave the population of 21,O19 and
valuation now of about $3,500,000 Yes, sew
eral counties and many of them purely ru-
raj ones with less than 10000 population,
have valuations much larger than ours at
the present time.
There are only five counties in the state
whose valuations were listed as being low
er than ours. They were: Pamlico, 9,299
people; Tyrell, 5,164 people; Clay, 5,454
people; Camden, 5,461 people and Dare,
5,2O2 people. And their valuations are near
ly as much as ours. Aside from those facts,
our bonded debt of over million dollars,
representing about thirty percent Of the
valuation, is twice as high as the average
of those five counties and in most cases
much higher than the thirty smaller than
Ashe whose valuations average great
deal more than ours.
Here is Watauga, for example. 1t has
1864 population and a valuation of ST.
8O5,822OO and net debt of less than half
of million. Allegheny county, 7,l86 pop
ulation, valuation of $3,998,3O5 and net
debt of $162, 10500.
What happened in Ashe? Simply this:
From 1916 to 1927, over million dollars
worth of bonds all of which were for
roads, were voted and issued, carrying in
terest rates mostly of from five to six per-
cent.