Echoes Forward

“In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” This thought was originally penned by Benjamin Franklin and has been alluded to probably millions of times since. Fast forward to the late 19th century, economist Henry George of Philadelphia sought to change the way we pay taxes. His ideas stretched across America over the next several decades – even into the small village of Preston, Maryland.

To save you a long explanation, Encyclopedia Britannica describes George’s design of a “single tax” like this: “that the state tax away all economic rent—the income from the use of bare land but not from improvements—and abolish all other taxes.” The idea of all land being essentially owned by the government and the people paying economic rent is a less strict form of socialism. Like all well-intentioned economic reformers, George’s idea stemmed from frustration with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. The rich owned more land, made more money, became richer, and bought more land – you guessed it – to make more money. In theory, a single economic rent tax would ensure that everyone had an equal opportunity to utilize land. Those who bought into this single tax idea were labeled “Georgists.”

In 1911, devoted Georgist and fellow Philadelphian Frank Boland bought 100 acres of land along the Choptank River at Gilpin Point. When exactly it became a single tax “conclave” (as the locals reportedly called it) is disputable. One newspaper article says that Boland didn’t get involved in the single tax movement until 1927. But at some point, he brought on two “trustees” to help him build a colony of Georgists on Gilpin Point. These were William Worthington Jr. and George Frank Stephens, who were connected with the more well-known and well-hated single tax colony of Arden, DE.

While Caroline Countians were mostly indifferent towards the Georgists on Gilpin Point, larger single tax colonies were not received well during this time period. World War I had planted seeds of discontent within American culture against anyone or anything that went against the status quo, especially anything that even hinted at communism.

Twelve leases of this land on Gilpin Point were granted by the trustees to Georgists in the Delmarva / Washington DC area. Very little, if anything at all, is known about the people who lived there. Mr. Stephens died not long after the experimental community was founded. According to secondary sources, this left the spirits of the Georgists permanently dampened. Those who lived there paid only a flat land “rent” to the board of trustees, which the board used to pay for any expenses still imposed upon them by the normal American economic system. In a way, the board served as a mediator between the outside world and the Georgists, allowing them to live under the single tax system as they pleased. If one of the Gilpin Point Georgists wanted to operate a business or get a license of some kind, the board used the money incurred with their land rents to pay for the taxes or fees that were required by the government for such activities.

Some local historians called the Gilpin Point Georgist colony “Caroline County’s Utopia.” But utopias can’t last forever. Mr. Boland was still living there as of a 1938 newspaper article. However, the article was alerting the public that the communal land was being privately sold, hinting that the Georgists had dispersed by then. Some residents who knew Boland were skeptical to what extent the colony existed or thrived. As I’ve alluded to before, very little is documented about this snippet of our history, probably due to the previously mentioned unpopularity of Georgists in post-war America and the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Additionally, Gilpin Point would much prefer to remain known as the former stomping grounds of Colonel William Richardson. Boland died sometime before World War II, well into his 80s, and with him went possibly the last Georgist believer in Caroline County.

All of this to say, if you’re unhappy about filing your taxes this month, you could always try and start your own tax reformist colony!