Economy in Kirtland
By late 1836 many recent LDS converts had gathered in Missouri and Kirtland, Ohio. The city of Kirtland experienced a significant population increase, growing from approximately 1,000 people in 1830 to 3,000 in 1836, with a similar increase in surrounding agricultural areas. The population growth was at least partially responsible for a rapid increase in land prices between 1832 and 1837. The average price per acre of land sold in Kirtland rose from approximately $7 in 1832 to $44 in 1837, only to fall back to $17.50 in 1839.(Ludlow, p. 283) Generalized inflation during the period accounted for between 25 and 40 percent of the price increase. Although the LDS church held considerable real estate, estimated at approximately $60,000 in equity by historian Larry T. Wimmer, it also needed liquidity to repay outstanding loans. The credit needs of the church, growing population and ongoing land transactions required a local bank.
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Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people. The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the Government. Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much the more meager. Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much the more abundant. Economy is idealism in its most practical terms.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)