Business Licenses

Business Licenses - 1888

By John Harvey

In a column two weeks ago, we told of a committee appointed by the mayor to inspect the area of small shacks just off the south and east sides of the Square in October of 1886. The committee made its report at the December meeting of city council and among the things it recommended was the establishment of a system of business licenses for the town.

Nothing further is mentioned about business licenses in council meetings until December of 1888. At that time, the council met in a series of called meetings in which a system of business licenses was outlined and adopted.

By reading over this business license ordinance, we can get an idea what sorts of businesses there were in the town. Also it is obvious that there was little hard cash in circulation in our county. Money was often hard to get and the average person rarely saw more than $200 in cash during the year.

A bill, fine, or charge of $2, 5, or $10 was enough to deter a person. A fine of $100, $200 or $500 meant that the person had really done something bad. Also a licensing fee of more than $100 meant that this was a business the city fathers were trying to discourage.

After meetings held by the city council during the week of December 30, 1888, the following licenses were signed into law by Mayor A. Y. Clement:

1. General merchandise stores, $10

2. Small shopkeepers, $5. (Those doing $500 or less business a year shall be deemed shop keepers)

3. Retail drugstore, $5.

4. Commercial fertilizer dealers and wholesale, $10.

5. One horse wagons, express wagons used in handling goods and merchandise within the town and county, $5.

6. Carriages, horse, cars, etc, used in the business of carrying passengers commercially, $5 each carriage.

7. Each two horse or more wagon, dray, or carriage involved in commercial use shall pay a fee to be set by the mayor and council.

8. Transient tradesmen in any goods of commercial services shall pay a fee to be set by the mayor and council.

9. Any person who is a physician, professor or vendor of goods and services, shall pay a fee to be set by the mayor and council.

10. Each private boarding house that takes in transient or local boarders shall pay a fee of $3, inns and hotels shall pay a fee of $10; restaurants and eating places shall pay a fee of $5, and saloons shall pay a fee of $25.00

11. Billiards halls shall pay $25 for each table.

12. The owner of each and every stallion, or jack kept for breeding purposes shall pay a fee of $10.00

13. Each shooting gallery shall pay a fee of $10.

14. Keepers of barber shops shall pay a fee of $10 each.

15. Livery barns shall pay a fee of $25 each.

16. Dry good stores shall pay a fee of $10 each. (repealed. On the first council meeting held after the licenses became official the merchants petitioned that as most of them were in the general merchandise business they were being doubled taxed. Council agreed.)

17. Blacksmith shops shall pay a fee of $2,50 each.

18. Wood shops shall pay a fee of $2.50 each.

19. Express companies doing business in the town shall pay a fee of $5.

20. Each telegraph company doing business in the town shall pay a fee of $5.

21. Each photography shop shall pay a fee of $5.

22. Each tin or metal shop shall pay a fee of $2.50

23. Corn or flour mills shall pay a fee of $5.

24. Saw mills and planning mills shall pay a fee of $5 each.

25. Cotton gins shall pay a fee of $5 each

26. All lumber dealers shall pay a fee of $10 each.

27. Real estate agents shall pay a fee of $5 each.

28. Individuals engaged in the business of boarding the horses or mules of other owner, but not in the livery business, shall pay a fee of $5.

29. All other persons engaged in the live stock business other than the livery business shall pay a fee of $5. (does not exclude them from other taxes.)

30. Insurance agents, money lending, collection agencies and other such businesses shall pay a fee of $10.

31. Any business or firm representing a freight or domestic business firm located outside the county shall pay a fee of $10.

32. Newspapers and job printing firms shall pay a fee of $5.

33. Dance halls or any place used for dancing shall pay a fee of $15 each time a dance is held.

Additional Comments:
Transcribed by Suzanne Forte (suzanneforte@bellsouth.net) April 2005, from copies of articles contained in the Monticello News. There articles were prepared by Mr.
John Harvey and published in this newspaper during the 1970's and 1980's time frame. Some were under the title "Jasper Reflections", others "Bicentennial Bits".
Permission has been granted by Mr. Harvey for use of these very valuable and informative articles.

Copies of articles provided by Benny Hawthorne.