September 26, 2024. Wilkes County is fortunate to have an existing copy of the 1798 Direct Federal Tax list. Only one other county in the state has even a partial list. Unlike other tax lists, this one provides an amazing amount of detail about the farms of our ancestors.
William Lenoir’s 1800 map laying out the new town of Wilkesboro is immediately recognizable because the streets remain just as he drew them. His map was redrawn many times for later deeds and surveys, but his original copy reveals the location of many of the town’s most significant buildings just after the Revolutionary War.
Together, these two sets of records allow us to imagine and recreate what the town looked like 225 years ago. From this we learn the location of the original county courthouse and jail. We also learn about the size, construction, and location of the log cabins where our ancestors lived in the earliest years of the county.
Recorded in September 2024 at the Wilkes Heritage Museum in Wilkesboro.
Link to my book “1798 Wilkes County Tax List” and other books on historical records on my website.
