| Although the land area of Montgomery County shrank with each census, the number of slaves to free whites increased significantly. Later census statistics reveal that the plantation slave economy had turned from developing new territory to more extensive use of the lands of old counties like Montgomery. Property values in Montgomery County rose between 1850 and 1860, with the prosperity of the period and local increases in the plantation and slave economy. The effects of the civil war and reconstruction drove the local property values down while taxes soared. The enumerator for the 1860 social schedule of Montgomery County defined personal estate property as Slaves, Horses, Mules, Oxen, Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Goats, Geese, Turkeys, Furniture, Jewels, Farming Tools, Carriages, Notes, Bonds, Accounts, and Cash. |
