Economics

Salaries and the Cost of Living

In 1875, the street commissioner got a salary of $2.25 per day. Men working under him received wages of $1.50 daily. Then later that year it increased to $1.75 if funds were available. In 1890, if your house needed heat a ton of it cost $6, and the pay for one man and a team of horses with plough or wagon was $4.50 for nine hours. An old man said, "That’s at least two days of working just for heat in your house ." I think that life was a lot harder than today because you had to work many hours just to pay for the things you needed to live.

The salaries today are a lot more than they were in the nineteenth century. Before as I said it was $2.25 per day, and now minimum wage is about $5.15 for an hour per day . That will equal over $40 dollars for a day. Now, it is easier to pay for the heat . Heat can cost from $30-$50 per month. In conclusion, it’s a lot easier today to pay for heat.

WHAT were the TAX RATES?

The tax rate per $1,000 in the village of the Tarrytowns in 1937 was $12.80. If your home was assessed at $10,000, you were billed $128; and if you divided that figure by 52 (the number of weeks in a year) you were paying $2.46 a week for property tax.

The tax rate in 1997 in Tarrytown today is $252 per $1000, and in Sleepy Hollow $587 per $1000.

Property Taxes

What were the major businesses, and corporation in

Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown

{Time Period } 1700’s - 1800’s

There were many jobs in Tarrytown. Some major jobs were farming, shipping, brick making, and working at the lumber yard. Farms, shipping companies and a brick factory were located by the Hudson River. There was a brick-making yard near the river south of Beekman Avenue. There was also a small iron foundry at the lower end of Main Street. Farming and shipping were the main occupations. Basically the people in the 1700’s -1800’s did what they had to do to make their living and support their families.

The Main occupation in 1899 - 1996

The main factory in 1899 was the General Motors plant. It was located on the Hudson River. General Motors was a corporation dealing with cars. They made all types of cars. Over the years General Motors began to lose money and some people lost their jobs. In 1996 the factory went out of business, and many people lost their jobs.

Produced by Fernando, Rafael, Tyrell, Miguel