The Ultimate Tax Sale

I just read an interesting real estate oriented piece of history in Smithsonian magazine. Turns out that the land on which Arlington National Cemetery sits was once the property of Robert E. Lee. Lots of people probably knew that. Actually, it belonged to his wife, but hey, he married well.

Not long after the war began, Lincoln (spurred by a fellow named Meigs) had the idea that any property abandoned by people siding with the Confederacy would be assessed a special tax. Oh, and the tax could only be paid in person. Oh, and the person could only be the owner.

Can you imagine Robert E. Lee waltzing up to the courthouse to pay the special assessment. He wasn't exactly well-liked in the North at the time.

Mary Custis Lee (his wife and "real" owner) had to pay the tax. She sent a relative to do so thinking that money is money.

Well, money was indeed not money, and the Union essentially foreclosed on 1100 acres on the Potomac for the grand total of around $90. At auction, the only bidder was---you guessed it---the federal government. It went for something around $25,000 (though it was appraised around $30,000-I wonder if there were appraisal review companies in on that one.)

I got a little professional kick out of reading that story.