Series 18188
Salt Lake County (Utah). County Assessor Tax assessment rolls
Dates: 1853, 1858-1859, 1861-1897.
53 microfilm reels
These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.
Scope and Content
These volumes record the assessment of real and personal property in Salt Lake County for tax purposes. The property may be owned by individuals or businesses. The county assessor determined the extent and value of property subject to taxes levied by the territory, county, school districts (beginning 1887), and cities (beginning 1893). Every volume records the property owner's name and rough property location. In addition there are columns to record the quantity and value of real estate and improvements, livestock, and other personal property ranging from household furniture and tools to merchandise, stock, bonds, and bullion. The particular columns change over the years as different items are subject to taxation or declared exempt. Beginning in 1880, the amount of tax for each entity is entered as well. Recapitulations, totaling amounts for each geographical segment and category, appear toward the back of the year's final book starting in 1873.
Particular volumes may have distinctive features. In 1853, the assessor was also the collector, so the tax rates and amounts collected are shown in the volume as well. Assessments for Green River County are recorded at the back of the 1853 volume. In the early volumes, there also may be penciled scratch assessments for other years. Special categories may be grouped separately, rather than appearing within their geographic district, usually toward the rear or front of a volume. Such categories include merchants in the early volumes, railroads from 1879 on, telephone and telegraph assessments beginning in 1884, and bank shareholders from 1878 on. Railroads and telephone and telegraph assessments were based primarily on the amount of rail or line through the county. After 1892 these were assessed by the territory with a portion allocated to the county; that portion was required to be recorded in the county assessor's books. At the back of the volumes, there are frequently appendices for assessments missed or lacking sufficient entry space earlier.
In 1896 the law changed which resulted in a change of procedures in 1898 and the end of this series. The initial roll created by the assessor was passed from the assessor to the county board of equalization to the treasurer; those offices no longer created separate copies.
Arrangement
For records created from 1853 to 1858, arrangement is chronological thereunder alphabetical by first letter of surname thereunder geographical by ward.For records created from 1859 to 1892, arrangement is chronological by year thereunder geographical, thereunder alphabetical by first letter of surname.
Volumes are arranged chronologically by year. Entries in the volumes are alphabetical by the first letter of surname thereunder geographically until 1858, after which they are arranged geographically thereunder alphabetically by first letter of surname until 1893, when entries are just arranged geographically. Special categories may be separated. See the research note for further detail.
Research Note
The geographical arrangement can be confusing. The geographical blocks may be recorded as wards, school districts, or section, township, and range. Transitions in record keeping may also be confusing; for example, in 1892 school district 66 follows school district 29 because both were in the Sugarhouse Ward. Beginning in 1893, rather than wards, the legal property description is given. For the most part, these move alphabetically through the plats in the Salt Lake City Survey, thereunder numerically through the blocks in each plat. The 5 Acre Big Field Survey plats, again alphabetically, follow the Salt Lake City Survey plats. Section, township, and range follow the 5 Acre Big Field Survey plats. All these surveys are implicitly within the Salt Lake City School District, although outside of the recapitulations, this fact was rarely stated. Thus starting explicitly with School District 21 rather than a school district one, for outlying areas, makes more sense than it may initially appear.
Related Records
Tax assessment rolls from Salt Lake County (Utah). County Treasurer, Series 4351, records assessments, changes, and collections after 1898.
Tax assessment rolls from Salt Lake City (Utah). City Assessor, Series 4922, shows city taxes--county and territorial taxes on property within the city are in this series from the beginning--until 1893.
Corrected tax assessment rolls from Salt Lake County (Utah). County Collector, Series 18189, shows the amendment and collection of these assessed taxes.
Custody History
These records were transferred to the State Archives by the county before the creation of a county archives. Series paper holdings were returned to the county archives 26 July 2001; the State Archives retained a film copy.
Access Restrictions
This series is classified as Public.
Preferred Citation
Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.
Gaps in Series
The location of volumes of years other than those listed is unknown.
Processing Note
The series was processed in 1997 by A. C. Cone. Most microfilming was done by the Archives in the late 1960s and early 1970s; a few reels were filmed in 1998. Most volumes dating 1880 and later were destroyed following filming. Surviving hardcopy (and a film copy) was transferred to the Salt Lake County Archives 26 July 2001; the Utah State Archives retained a film copy.
Finding Aids
Other: The recapitulations in the volumes from 1873 on often may be used as a table of contents for the year.
Indexing Terms
- Taxation of personal property—Salt Lake County (Utah).
- Local taxation—Salt Lake County (Utah).
- Salt Lake City (Utah)—Real property tax.
Container List
| REEL | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1853 |
| 2 | 1858 |
| 2 | 1859 |
| 3 | 1861 |
| 3 | 1862 |
| 4 | 1863 |
| 4 | 1864 |
| 5 | 1865 |
| 6 | 1866 |
| 7 | 1867 |
| 8 | 1868 |
| 9 | 1869 |
| 10 | 1870 |
| 10 | 1871 |
| 11 | 1872 |
| 12 | 1873 |
| 12 | 1874 |
| 12 | 1875 |
| 13 | 1876 |
| 13 | 1877 |
| 14 | 1878 |
| 15 | 1879; ward 1-20 |
| 16 | 1879; ward 20-Little Cottonwood |
| 17 | 1880 |
| 18 | 1881 |
| 19 | 1882 |
| 20 | 1883 |
| 21 | 1884 |
| 22 | 1885 |
| 23 | 1886 |
| 24 | 1887 |
| 25 | 1888 |
| 26 | 1889 |
| 27 | 1890; school district 1-20, 51, money lenders-appendix |
| 28 | 1890; school district 21-Alta, railroads-recapitulations |
| 29 | 1891; ward 1-14, bank shareholders |
| 30 | 1891; ward 15-22, ""C""-money lenders, school district 21-42 |
| 31 | 1891; school district 43-Alta, railroads-recapitulations |
| 32 | 1892; ward 1-15 |
| 33 | 1892; ward 16-22, ""C""-bank shareholders |
| 34 | 1892; school district 21-29, 66, 30-46 |
| 35 | 1892; school district 48-Little Cottonwood, bee hives-recapitulations |
| 36 | 1893; Block 1, Plat A, SLC Sur-Block 60, Plat C, SLC Sur |
| 37 | 1893; Block 61, Plat C, SLC Sur-Terrace Heights |
| 38 | 1893; School district 21-Silverton, railroads-recapitulations |
| 39 | 1894; Block 1, Plat A, SLC Sur-Block 62, Plat C, SLC Sur |
| 40 | 1894; Block 63, Plat C, SLC Sur-Terrace Heights |
| 41 | 1894; School district 21-46; School district 47-Silverton, railroads-recapitulations |
| 42 | 1895; Block 1, Plat A, SLC Sur-Block 75, Plat C, SLC Sur |
| 43 | 1895; Block 76, Plat C, SLC Sur-Terrace Heights |
| 44 | 1895; School district 21-44 |
| 45 | 1895; School district 46-Silverton, railroads-recapitulations |
| 46 | 1896; Block 1, Plat A, SLC Sur-University Subdivision |
| 47 | 1896; Block 76, Plat C, SLC Sur-Terrace Heights |
| 48 | 1896; School district 21-44, bank shareholders-appendix |
| 49 | 1896; School district 46-Silverton, mortgages-recapitulations |
| 50 | 1897; Block 1, Plat A, SLC Sur-Block 114, Plat C, SLC Sur |
| 51 | 1897; Block 1, Plat D, SLC Sur-Terrace Heights |
| 52 | 1897; School district 21-46 |
| 53 | 1897; School district 47-Silverton, bank shareholders-recapitulations |
Page Last Updated October 18, 2012.