Page 82 - a-history-of-columbia-county-florida-(1996)-edward-f-keuchel

A History of Columbia County Florida (1996) Edward F. Keuchel 71/340

A History of Columbia County, Florida
Although large plantation owners and small farmers alike
tried to operate on a self-sufficient basis, many items had to be
purchased, and if money was available, “store-bought” goods were
frequently preferable to home-made products. Goods manufac­
tured in England or the Northeast were expensive, however, and
many small farms simply did not produce surpluses sufficient to
purchase such items as were available. William Cason, who com­
manded a militia company during the Second Seminole War and
afterwards located a grist mill on the Ichetucknee River about two
miles south of the springs at a place known as the Millpond, made
the following purchases from Dowling Cole and Company of
Alligator in 1844:
February 12 2 lbs. nails, 2 pairs of hooks
and hinges $1.91
1 barrel of flour 7.50
1 plug of tobacco .50
February 24 3 sacks of salt $9.75
1 gallon of rum .63
March 26 1 pair men’s shoes and 9
yards of calico $2.13
April 8 1 pair woman’s shoes $1.25
October 9 1 bottle of whiskey .5022
Although prices of store goods were high, taxes were low.
County property taxes were the only taxes of any consequence for
Columbia Countians in the 1840’s. In 1845,296 persons paid county
taxes and most were in amounts of under $10. George E. McClellan,
for example, owned 320 acres of land and 14 slaves for which he
was assessed $7.92 in taxes. The biggest tax payers were the
whiskey merchants and saloon keepers. The county had five whis­
key merchants (B. C. Branning, Thomas Dexter, John Dalany,
Allen Histon, William Ross) and four saloons (Noyes and Cole,
22Account of William Cason, William Cason Business Papers, Manuscript
Collection, Box 5, P. K. Yonge Library, University of Florida, Gainesville.

68

www.LakeCityHistory.com LCH-UUID: 02905885-C4E0-4A35-9DAE-804ED8349EC9