Depreciation Lands

Last updated
Depreciation Lands
Depreciation Lands outline over a map of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania

Depreciation Lands is the historical term used for a tract of land in Western Pennsylvania, which was purchased by the Pennsylvania's state government from Native Americans in 1784. The Depreciation Lands, which were split by surveyors, encompassed land from the Ohio River to the south, all the way north the mouth of Mahoning Creek (then known as Mogulbughtiton Creek), bounded by the east by the Allegheny River, and stretching to the state border in the west. The borders of many boroughs and townships are still to this day Depreciation lines, drawn by the original surveyors.

Contents

History

The Depreciation Lands were a tract of land within a part of western Pennsylvania that was purchased by the Commonwealth from Native Americans in 1784. The area was located west of the Allegheny River, north of the Ohio River, and was bordered to the north by the east–west line that stretched from the mouth of Mahoning Creek (then known as Mogulbughtiton Creek) to the western border of Pennsylvania. [1]

Before the time of the purchase, The Six Nations used the area for hunting, though the area was mostly uninhabited, save for a small village of ~50 cabins north of what is now Ambridge. [2] The purchased land was subdivided into two sections: the Donation Lands and the Depreciation lands. The Donation Lands were farther north than the Depreciation Lands, and were given to each Pennsylvania Line soldier and officer who served in the Continental Army to the end of the Revolutionary War. The remaining Depreciation Lands were given for redemption of depreciation certificates, which were given to soldiers in exchange for their received military pay in depreciated currency. [3]

The Depreciation Lands were divided into five districts from west to east, and eight surveyors were appointed to lay out the land in lots of 200 to 350 acres. From east to west, the surveyors were A. McClean, Major Daniel Leet, Nathaniel Breading, William Alexander, Samuel Nicholson, Samuel Jones, Colonel James Cunningham, and Colonel Joshua Elder. [4] [5] [6] Despite the effort of the Pennsylvania Legislature, the Depreciation Lands were not all sold to deserving veterans. Many sold their depreciation certificates to speculators, and some of the surveyors themselves used their inside information to acquire valuable land. [2]

The Depreciation Lands still have their mark on modern boroughs and townships, whose borders are still based on the Depreciation lines drawn by the original surveyors. [2]

Depreciation Certificates

During the Revolutionary War, the soldiers of the Continental Army were paid by the Continental Congress with paper money known as Continental Currency. At first, it was backed by gold, but as the war continued more and more paper money was printed with no gold to back it, and this caused the money to depreciate in value. By the end of the war, Continental Currency was virtually worthless, which inspired the expression "Not worth a Continental." [7] The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania helped their poorly paid soldiers by issuing Certificates of Depreciation that could be used for the purchase of land. An Act of the Pennsylvania Legislature passed March 12, 1783, provided for the purchase of the lands still owned by the "Indians" in western Pennsylvania and their sale or donation to veterans. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allegheny River</span> River in Pennsylvania and New York, United States

The Allegheny River is a 325-mile-long (523 km) headwater stream of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, northwesterly into New York, then in a zigzag southwesterly across the border and through Western Pennsylvania to join the Monongahela River at the Forks of the Ohio at Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allegheny County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Allegheny County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's second most populous city. Allegheny County is the center of the Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan statistical area and the Pittsburgh media market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armstrong County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Armstrong County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,558. The county seat is Kittanning. The county was organized on March 12, 1800, from parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Lycoming Counties. It was named in honor of John Armstrong, who represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress and served as a major general during the Revolutionary War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleppo Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Aleppo Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,828 at the 2020 census, a decrease from the figure of 1,916 tabulated in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Park, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Franklin Park is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,479 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leet Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Leet Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,620 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio Township, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Ohio Township is a township of the Second Class in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. Ohio Township elects a board of three Supervisors, a property tax collector, and a constable. The day-to-day business of the township is managed by a Township Manager serving at will. In addition to the Administration Office, the Police Department, Road Department, and Recreation Department are also under the direct administration of the Board of Supervisors. The Ohio Township Police Department provides full-time service, not only for Ohio Township, but through contractual agreements also for the Townships of Aleppo, Kilbuck, and Neville and the Boroughs of Ben Avon, Ben Avon Heights, Emsworth and Sewickley Hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sewickley, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, 12 miles (19 km) west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 3,907 at the 2020 census. The Sewickley Bridge crosses the Ohio River from Sewickley to Moon Township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCandless, Pennsylvania</span> Home rule municipality in Pennsylvania, United States

McCandless is a township with home rule status in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,709 at the 2020 census. It is a northern suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holland Land Company</span>

The Holland Land Company was an unincorporated syndicate of thirteen Dutch investors from Amsterdam, headquartered in Philadelphia, who purchased large tracts of American land for development and speculation. Their primary purchase was that of the western two-thirds of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase in 1792 and 1793, an area that afterward was known as the Holland Purchase. Additional lands were purchased in northwest Pennsylvania. Aliens were forbidden from owning land within New York State, except by special acts of the New York State Legislature, so investors placed their funds in the hands of certain trustees who bought the land in central and western New York State. The syndicate hoped to sell the land rapidly at a great profit. Instead, for many years they were forced to make further investments in their purchase; surveying it, building roads, digging canals, to make it more attractive to settlers. They influenced state policy in New York to allow foreign ownership of the land, avoid new taxes, and promote the construction of the Erie Canal and government roads on the company lands. They supported Governor Dewitt Clinton's faction in the state government to achieve these goals. The company finished selling its New York lands in 1839 and its Pennsylvania lands in 1849, and the company was liquidated in 1858.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phelps and Gorham Purchase</span> 1788 Massachusetts / New York land transfer

The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the sale, in 1788, of a portion of a large tract of land in western New York State owned by the Seneca nation of the Iroquois Confederacy to a syndicate of land developers led by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham. The larger tract of land is generally known as the "Genesee tract" and roughly encompasses all that portion of New York State west of Seneca Lake, consisting of about 6,000,000 acres (24,000 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio Company</span> British land speculation company in colonial North America

The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country and to trade with the Native Americans. The company had a land grant from Britain and a treaty with Indians, but France also claimed the area, and the conflict helped provoke the outbreak of the French and Indian War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yohogania County, Virginia</span> Former county in Virginia

Yohogania County was created by the new state of Virginia in 1776, in an area long disputed between Virginia and Pennsylvania. The county ceased to exist after the border dispute between the two states was resolved in the 1780s. Thus, it is sometimes referred to as a "lost county," although 1.5 million people live within the territory it once claimed, which encompasses two entire counties and parts of four others in two states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahoning Valley (geographic)</span>

The Mahoning Valley is a geographic valley encompassing Northeast Ohio and a small portion of Western Pennsylvania that drains into the Mahoning River. According to information at the bottom of Page 321 in a publication by the Ohio Secretary of State's Office, the river name comes from an Indian word meaning “at the licks.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Pine Bottom State Park</span> State park in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States

Upper Pine Bottom State Park is a 5-acre (2.0 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is in Cummings Township on Pennsylvania Route 44 and is surrounded by the Tiadaghton State Forest. It is on Upper Pine Bottom Run, which gave the park its name and is a tributary of Pine Creek. Upper Pine Bottom State Park is in the Pine Creek Gorge, where the streams have cut through five major rock formations from the Devonian and Carboniferous periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brady's Bend, Pennsylvania</span>

Brady's Bend, also known as Bradys Bend, is a location in East Brady, Clarion County, Pennsylvania. It is named for Captain Samuel Brady (1756–1795), frontier scout and the subject of many legends. The photo is a composite of three shots taken about 1,400 ft. above sea level. Near this location on the Allegheny River in Western Pennsylvania June 1779—in what was then Seneca territory – Brady led a force seeking to redress the killing of a settler and her four children, and the taking of two children as prisoners. The force surrounded a party of seven Indians—apparently both Seneca and Munsee – killing their leader and freeing the two children.

Allegheny Land Trust is a regional land conservation group headquartered in the Pittsburgh suburb of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

Commissary notes were financial certificates issued by the departments of the quartermaster and commissary-general on behalf of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Due to the rapid depreciation of the Continental currency, the Continental Congress authorized soldiers to provide commissary notes as compensation for impressed supplies. However, the widespread use of these certificates further contributed to the trend of currency devaluation. Although distinct from the paper currency issued by the Continental Congress, commissary notes were accepted during state tax collections. Consequently, a large portion of the nearly worthless Continental notes remained in circulation despite Congressional attempts to improve credit through a reduction in the money supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganoga Lake</span> Natural lake Pennsylvania

Ganoga Lake is a natural lake in Colley Township in southeastern Sullivan County in Pennsylvania, United States. Known as Robinson's Lake and Long Pond for most of the 19th century, the lake was purchased by the Ricketts family in the early 1850s and became part of R. Bruce Ricketts' extensive holdings in the area after the American Civil War. The lake is one of the highest in Pennsylvania, which led Ricketts to name it Highland Lake by 1874 and rename it Ganoga Lake in 1881; Pennsylvania senator Charles R. Buckalew suggested the name Ganoga from the Seneca language word for "water on the mountain".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Brodhead</span> American Revolutionary War general

Daniel Brodhead was an American military and political leader during the American Revolutionary War and early days of the United States.

References

  1. Munger, Donna Bingham (September 1993). Pennsylvania Land Records. IV.E.2.b(1) Depreciation Lands: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated. ISBN   9780842024976 . Retrieved 11 August 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. 1 2 3 "Depreciation Lands". Sewickley Valley Historical Society. Sewickley Valley Historical Society. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  3. "RG-17 RECORDS OF THE LAND OFFICE". Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Pennsylvania State Archives. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  4. Meyers, Edwin R. "Depreciation Lands map, 1892". Historical Society of Pennsylvania Digital Library. Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  5. "RG-17 Records of the Land Office DEPRECIATION LAND REGISTER, undated. {series #17.185}". Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Pennsylvania State Archives. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  6. Though Historical Society of Pennsylvania Digital Library includes the surveyor "Captain Douglas" in district 3, the complete list of recorded records of surveyed and sold land from Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission doesn't have any surveyed by him. He is excluded from the list here. Otherwise, the list of surveyors from both sources are identical.
  7. Newman, 1990, p. 17.
  8. Winner, John E. (January 1925). "The Depreciation and Donation Lands". Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine. 8 (1): 1–3. Retrieved 11 August 2023.

Bibliography