Board of Selectmen - Property and Poll Tax records, 1773 - 1978

Contains eighteenth and nineteenth century tax inventories documenting valuations on land and homes, polls, livestock, property improvements such as mills, and stock investments. After 1800 the only significant gap in the records is between 1854 and 1856. For some years before 1800 there are no extant inventories. This series also includes tax warrants issued by the State of New Hampshire and Grafton County, abatements, tax receipts, and other tax records.

The bulk of these records occur before 1900. The annual assessment records follow the alphabetical files and form the majority of the series. The annual assessment records are variously titled inventories, lists, blotters, or invoices. Within this guide the term "inventory" refers to all documents titled invoice, assessment, blotter, inventory, or list. The selectmen, assessor, or clerk used these terms to describe a written inventory of all properties in the town. While "invoice" is the most historically accurate term, "inventory," for current usage, better describes the records in hand.

Within each leaf or volume, the selectmen or assessors listed assessments alphabetically according to heads of families and corporate bodies, including Dartmouth College. During the nineteenth century, the Selectmen made their assessments according to school districts that numbered as many as eighteen. Thus, an inventory for a given year will include lists for each district. Likewise, between 1856 and 1961 assessments for the Village Precinct residents are listed separately from assessments made in the township.