To George Washington from Richard Peters, 26 January 1797
From Richard Peters
Jany 26. 1797
Dear Sir
I have endeavoured to find out the Prices of Land at & near Philadelphia & from thence to Lancaster on & near the Route to that Place.1 But these Prices are so various that I am not able to fix on any Average. £100 ⅌ Acre is offered for Land on the West Side of Schuylkill near the Bridge2—Near £60 this Currency were given last year for Land a Mile further West—I would not take this Sum for my Plantation3—10 Miles further, Land has sold for £15—& further still for £20. In the Valley Midway between Philada & Lancaster, a good Plantation was bought for £12 ⅌ Acre, & as far as £25 has been given there. Near Lancaster, Land has been sold for £40 ⅌ Acre, & in general £15 to £25—Off the Road & in poor Soils £4.10. £7.10—So that it depends on Situation, Neighborhood, Improvements; & I believe not a little on Fancy, as there is no decided annual Revenue, Rent, or other fixed Diagram, by which to calculate the Capital, which ought to be invested in the Purchase of my Farm. Times of Payment & the Quantum of Cash in Hand, & whether the Instalments are paid with or without Interest, have Their Operations on Prices.
I send you a few more of the Enquiries on Plaister.4 When you please to desire Sr J. St Clair’s Papers they shall be sent.5 I am with much Esteem & Respect Your obed. Servt
Richard Peters
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. GW had been soliciting information on land prices from various officials to transmit to John Sinclair, who was considering immigrating to the United States (see Sinclair to GW, 11 Sept. 1796, found at Sinclair to GW, 30 May 1796, n.1; GW to Sinclair, 11 Dec. 1796; and Thomas Hartley to GW, 23 Dec. 1796).
Peters’s reference to the “Route” probably refers to the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, which had been completed in 1794 (see , 10:xi-xii).
2. Peters may be referring to the bridge of boats, or floating bridge, at the Middle Ferry, also known as the Market Street Ferry. The bridge crossed the Schuylkill River at the west end of High (Market) Street. A permanent bridge at that location was completed in 1805.
3. Peters’s country estate, Belmont, was located on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, slightly below the falls but well north of the Middle Ferry (see Timothy Pickering to GW, 29 Sept. 1796, n.3).
4. For Peters’s Agricultural Enquiries on Plaister of Paris, see GW to Peters, 21 Jan., n.1.
5. For the papers that Sinclair had sent GW, see GW to Peters, 10 Dec. 1796, and n.1 to that document.