Depreciation Lands is the historical term used for a tract of land in the western part of the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...

, that was purchased by the state government from Native Americans in 1784. The Depreciation Lands, which were split by surveyors, encompassed land from the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

to the south, all the way north the mouth of Mahoning Creek (then known as Mogulbughtiton Creek), bounded by the east by the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...

, and stretching to the state border in the west. The borders of many boroughs and townships are still to this day Depreciation lines, drawn by the original surveyors.

History

The Depreciation Lands were a tract of land within a part of western

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

that was purchased by the Commonwealth from Native Americans in 1784. The area was located west of the Allegheny River, north of the Ohio River, and was bordered to the north by the east–west line that stretched from the mouth of Mahoning Creek (then known as Mogulbughtiton Creek) to the western border of Pennsylvania. Before the time of the purchase, The Six Nations used the area for hunting, though the area was mostly uninhabited, save for a small village of ~50 cabins north of what is now

Ambridge Ambridge may refer to: * Ambridge (''The Archers''), a fictional place in the UK radio programme, ''The Archers'' * Ambridge, Indiana, a former neighborhood, now part of Ambridge Mann, Indiana, US ** Ambridge station, a former railway station in A ...

. The purchased land was subdivided into two sections: the Donation Lands and the Depreciation lands. The Donation Lands were farther north than the Depreciation Lands, and were given to each

Pennsylvania Line The Pennsylvania Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Pennsylvania Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Pennsylvania at various times by the Continental Congress. These, together with simila ...

soldier and officer who served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

to the end of the Revolutionary War. The remaining Depreciation Lands were given for redemption of depreciation certificates, which were given to soldiers in exchange for their received military pay in depreciated currency. The Depreciation Lands were divided into five districts from west to east, and eight surveyors were appointed to lay out the land in lots of 200 to 350 acres. From east to west, the surveyors were A. McClean,

Leet Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via reflection or other resemblance. ...

Breading Bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants including breading and crispies) consist of crumbled bread of various dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening ...

, William Alexander, Samuel Nicholson, Samuel Jones, Colonel James Cunningham, and Colonel Joshua Elder. Despite the effort of the Pennsylvania Legislature, the Depreciation Lands were not all sold to deserving veterans. Many sold their depreciation certificates to speculators, and some of the surveyors themselves used their inside information to acquire valuable land. The Depreciation Lands still have their mark on modern boroughs and townships, whose borders are still based on the Depreciation lines drawn by the original surveyors.

Depreciation Certificates

During the Revolutionary War, the soldiers of the Continental Army were paid by the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

with paper money known as

Continental Currency Early American currency went through several stages of development during the colonial and post-Revolutionary history of the United States. John Hull was authorized by the Massachusetts legislature to make the earliest coinage of the colony (the ...

. At first, it was backed by gold, but as the war continued more and more paper money was printed with no gold to back it, and this caused the money to depreciate in value. By the end of the war, Continental Currency was virtually worthless, which inspired the expression "Not worth a Continental." The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania helped their poorly paid soldiers by issuing ''Certificates of Depreciation'' that could be used for the purchase of land. An Act of the Pennsylvania Legislature passed March 12, 1783, provided for the purchase of the lands still owned by the "Indians" in western Pennsylvania and their sale or donation to veterans.

References

External links

Mercer County, Donation Lands Historical Marker

The Deprecation Lands Museum

Bibliography

*Newman, Eric P. ''The Early Paper Money of America''. 3rd edition. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 1990. {{ISBN, 0-87341-120-X. Pittsburgh Pennsylvania