Bullitt County History

1859-1860 State Auditor's Reports

The following state auditor's reports provide us with a snapshot of Bullitt County in the years just prior to the Civil War.

The following information is transcribed from the Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1859. [Frankfort, Ky., Printed at the Yeoman Office, Jno. B. Major, State Printer, 1860].

NOTE: Because of the nature of the layout, horizontal scrolling will be necessary on smaller screens. We apologize for the inconvenience.


Page 48

                                 BULLITT COUNTY

ITEMS OF TAXATION, &c.    Valuation 1859  Valuation 1858  Increase  Decrease

144,815 acres of land       $1,558,567
173,646 acres of land                       $1,676,160              $117,593
28,831 decrease in acres

178 town lots                   86,178
193 town lots                                   94,228                 8,050
15 decrease in town lots

1,301 total slaves             641,690
1,366 total slaves                             653,410                11,720
65 decrease in slaves

2,611 horses and mares         188,619
2,730 horses and mares                         179,743     $8,876
119 decrease in horses/mares

183 mules                       15,625
237 mules                                       20,405                 4,780
54 decrease in mules

13 jennies                       1,440
8 jennies                                          685        755
5 increase in jennies

5,567 cattle                    32,385
5,543 cattle                                    34,586                 2,291
24 increase in cattle

19 stores                       27,500
23 stores                                       26,608        892
4 decrease in stores

Valuation under                368,539
   the Equalization Law                        413,988                45,449

Total                       $2,920,543      $3,099,813    $10,523   $189,793



Page 49

                               BULLITT COUNTY

ITEMS OF TAXATION, &c.                                   For 1859   For 1858

Tax on valuation, at 20 cents per $100 ................ $5,841.09  $6,199.63
Value of pleasure carriages, barouches,
  buggies, stage coaches, gigs, omnibuses,
  and other vehicles for passengers ....... $10,081.00
Value of gold, silver, and other metallic 
  watches and clocks ........................ 8,127.00
Value of gold and silver plate .............. 3,994.00
Value of pianos ............................. 3,627.00
Total value ............................... $25,829.00

Tax on the above, at 30 cents per $100 ................     77.49      82.80
Auditor's list ........................................     80.15      39.40
Clerk's list ..........................................     -----      -----

Total revenue ......................................... $5,998.73  $6,321.83

Decrease of revenue ...................................              $323.10

WHITE MALES, &c.                                         For 1859   For 1858

Total number of white males over 21 years old .........     1,241      1,353
Total number of slaves over 16 years old ..............       583        664
Total number of children between 6 and 18 years old ...     1,534      1,635
Total number of studs, jacks, and bulls - 
  (rates 1859, $40; rates 1858, $00) ..................        19         21
Total number of tavern licenses .......................        15         13
Free whites that are blind ............................        --         --
Free whites that are deaf and dumb ....................        --         --
Total number of hogs over six months old ..............    10,236      5,995
Pounds of tobacco .....................................     8,011      ----- 
Pounds of hemp ........................................     -----      ----- 
Tons of hay ...........................................     1,959      -----
Bushels of corn .......................................   404,225      -----
Bushels of wheat ......................................    42,968      -----
Bushels of barley .....................................       144      -----
Tons of pig metal .....................................     -----      -----
Tons of bloom .........................................     -----      -----
Tons of bar iron ......................................     -----      -----

LAND REPORTED  Acres Value

Land reported by the commissioner of said county
  for 1859, as lying in the county of Bullitt .........   141,097 $1,516,772
Land reported from other counties 
  as lying in said county .............................    11,048     93,238

Total land lying in Bullitt County, and value, 
  (as per returns) ....................................   152,145 $1,610,010

Average value, per acre, for 1859 ..... $10.58
Average value, per acre, for 1858 .....   9.80

Increase value, per acre .............. $ 0.78

HENRY TRUNNELL, Sheriff of Bullitt County for 1859.


Page 386

                        BULLITT COUNTY
HEADS OF EXPENDITURES

Commissioners of tax, 1858 ............................     33.20
Commissioners of tax, 1859 ............................    138.63
Witnesses' attendance in Commonwealth's cases .........     78.28
Sheriffs' accounts ....................................      7.40
Marshals' accounts ....................................     12.02
Record books furnished the several clerks' offices ....     13.80
Fees to county court clerks for copying 
  commissioners' books, 1859 ..........................     36.97
Amount paid by clerks in aid of the jury fund .........    143.93
For support of idiots .................................    250.00
Jailers' accounts .....................................     54.70
Common schools ........................................  2,010.00
Deficit of jury fund paid by the trustees .............    113.03
Compensation for killing wild cats ....................     26.00
Trustees' commissions .................................     18.90
Delinquents and exonerations by court .................     69.75
Sheriffs' commissions .................................    305.10
Clerks' commissions ...................................     31.84
Forfeited lands .......................................     31.50

Total expenditures ....................................  3,375.05
Revenue, &c. chargeable to sheriffs, clerks, &c. ......  7,518.87
Net Revenue ...........................................  4,143.82
Expenses exceeding the revenue ........................  --------

The following information is transcribed from the Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1860. [Frankfort, Ky., Printed at the Yeoman Office, Jno. B. Major, State Printer, 1861].

Page 50

                                 BULLITT COUNTY

ITEMS OF TAXATION, &c.    Valuation 1860  Valuation 1859  Increase  Decrease

151,146 acres of land       $1,702,004
144,815 acres of land                       $1,558,567              $143,437
6,331 increase in acres

185 town lots                  107,692
178 town lots                                   86,178     21,514
7 increase in town lots

1,368 total slaves             698,800
1,301 total slaves                             641,690     57,110
67 increase in slaves

2,783 horses and mares         197,567
2,611 horses and mares                         188,619     $8,948
172 increase in horses/mares

215 mules                       16,528
183 mules                                       15,625        903
32 increase in mules

12 jennies                       1,440
13 jennies                                       1,440                  $165
1 decrease in jennies

6,065 cattle                    34,342
5,567 cattle                                    32,385      1,957
498 increase in cattle

20 stores                       27,100
19 stores                                       27,500                   400
1 increase in stores

Valuation under                368,064
   the Equalization Law                        368,539                   475

Total                       $3,153,372      $2,920,543   $233,869     $1,040



Page 51

                               BULLITT COUNTY

ITEMS OF TAXATION, &c.                                   For 1860   For 1859

Tax on valuation, at 20 cents per $100 ................ $6,306.74  $5,841.09
Value of pleasure carriages, barouches,
  buggies, stage coaches, gigs, omnibuses,
  and other vehicles for passengers ....... $11,049.00
Value of gold, silver, and other metallic 
  watches and clocks ....................... 10,603.00
Value of gold and silver plate .............. 4,012.00
Value of pianos ............................. 3,371.00
Total value ............................... $29,035.00

Tax on the above, at 30 cents per $100 ................     87.10      77.49
Auditor's list ........................................     35.95      80.15
Clerk's list ..........................................     -----      -----

Total revenue ......................................... $6,429.79  $5,998.73

Increase of revenue ...................................   $431.06

WHITE MALES, &c.                                         For 1860   For 1859

Total number of white males over 21 years old .........     1,300      1,241
Total number of slaves over 16 years old ..............       640        583
Total number of children between 6 and 18 years old ...     1,512      1,534
Total number of studs, jacks, and bulls - 
  (rates 1859, $40; rates 1858, $00) ..................        17         19
Total number of tavern licenses .......................        11         15
Free whites that are blind ............................        --         --
Free whites that are deaf and dumb ....................        --         --
Total number of hogs over six months old ..............     9,063     10,236
Pounds of tobacco .....................................     7,270      8,011 
Pounds of hemp ........................................     -----      ----- 
Tons of hay ...........................................     1,655      1,959
Bushels of corn .......................................   414,925    404,225
Bushels of wheat ......................................    68,045     42,968
Bushels of barley .....................................       474        144
Tons of pig metal .....................................     -----      -----
Tons of bloom .........................................     -----      -----
Tons of bar iron ......................................     -----      -----

LAND REPORTED  Acres Value

Land reported by the commissioner of said county
  for 1860, as lying in the county of Bullitt .........   146,911 $1,637,737
Land reported from other counties 
  as lying in said county .............................     7,626     58,296

Total land lying in Bullitt County, and value, 
  (as per returns) ....................................   154,537 $1,696,033

Average value, per acre, for 1860 ..... $10.97
Average value, per acre, for 1859 .....  10.58

Increase value, per acre .............. $ 0.39

HENRY TRUNNELL, Sheriff of Bullitt County for 1860.


Page 254

                        BULLITT COUNTY
HEADS OF EXPENDITURES

Commissioners of tax, 1859 ............................     34.65
Commissioners of tax, 1860 ............................    146.09
Witnesses' attendance in Commonwealth's cases .........     64.30
Sheriffs' accounts ....................................     37.00
Marshals' accounts ....................................      3.60
For support of idiots .................................    233.33
Jailers' accounts .....................................    126.80
Pay of Senator and Representatives, 
  December session, 1859 ..............................    529.58
Revenue refunded for 1859 .............................     18.76
Common schools ........................................  2,358.00
Deficit of jury fund paid by the trustees .............    259.76
Compensation for killing wild cats ....................      2.00
Trustees' commissions .................................     34.14
Delinquents and exonerations by court .................    102.31
Sheriffs' commissions .................................    309.83
Clerks' commissions ...................................     29.71

Total expenditures ....................................  4,289.86
Revenue, &c. chargeable to sheriffs, clerks, &c. ......  7,357.15
Net Revenue ...........................................  3,067.29
Expenses exceeding the revenue ........................  --------

If you, the reader, have an interest in any particular part of our county history, and wish to contribute to this effort, use the form on our Contact Us page to send us your comments about this, or any Bullitt County History page. We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you feel that we have misspoken at any point, please feel free to point this out to us.

The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 12 Jan 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/auditorreport1859.html