Otsego Property Tax Assessment Records, 1842-1933

These records are in digital format (pdf files), and are currently available only within the library.

The information found in tax assessment records is valuable for people who are researching their property or house history.  Found within the tax records are names of property owners, legal descriptions and dimensions of parcels owned, property values, and assessed taxes.  Those trying to date the construction of an older home use these records to track property values year by year. Substantial increases in value from one year to the next usually indicate a significant improvement, such as the construction of a house.

Other resources used in conjunction with tax assessment records are the library’s plat maps, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (on microfilm covering the years 1887-1935), and other types of maps that identify property boundaries such as the 1880 Birdseye View of Otsego.  Plat maps are necessary in order to match up legal descriptions of properties listed in the tax records with parcels or lots found on the maps. 

Below is an inventory of the available years of tax assessment records in the collection (one year per pdf file):