Just returned from the bindery after slightly more than one year’s absence is a set of early – and rare – Fall River valuation books; they document the town of Fall River, from 1841-1853, the city of Fall River, from 1854-1860, and the town of Fall River, Rhode Island, from 1858-1861.
Valuation books provide an annual accounting of taxes for individuals who resided in Fall River, with details provided for taxes due that were related to real estate ownership and personal estates; also included is the poll tax. Much of the information recorded is not available elsewhere.
The twenty-one oversized volumes spent decades in storage – the original bindings were in tatters or completely absent, making it impossible for them to be available to researchers; the pages survived in a remarkable state of preservation.
Before being delivered to the bindery, each volume was painstakingly cleaned, in-house, requiring careful vacuuming along the inside spine, where each page is connected – amazing what accumulates there – and cleaning each leaf with a soft brush. At the bindery, they were completely rebound, using archival quality materials; durable, canvas-covered boards were installed, ensuring their resiliency.
The $3200 cost of this work was generously made possible with funds provided by a grant from the Earle P. Charlton Jr. Charity Fund, which has provided considerable support to the FRHS’s Charlton Library of Fall River History.
