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This Month's Highlight of California Collections
Courtesy of
Riverside County
Property Ownership Record (POR) Book Collection
Previously known as Assessor Rolls, the POR books provide a wealth of information for researchers outlining chain of title, tracing genealogical developments, tracking assessed value history and more.
Collected every 5 to 7 years these records reflect each assessed owner(s) name, the corresponding transfer document number (such as a deed), legal description of the land, and assessed value for a variety of variables.
The assessment values are divided into three categories: land, structures and agriculture. The land category does not reflect a dollar value - it typically mirrors the legal description of the property as recorded on the transfer document. On the other hand, the structures and agriculture categories do not contain specific descriptions, but rather are limited to dollar values.
Combining these categories, researchers can analyze the year-to-year changes in assessment values to estimate changes to the land’s development. For example, using a 1940’s POR, if the structure value of a specific property increased from $300 to $500 in one year while the same value did not change for other parcels in the same area, researchers can infer that an additional building was permitted and built on that property.
Similarly, if agriculture values decreased for a large parcel, it could signal the land owner lowered their produce production.
We are currently working on completing our digitization and preservation efforts for the POR collection.
Due to the references to other collections, POR books act as a starting point for most research, making them our most used collection.
We plan to make the digital images readily available online to allow researchers to access them asynchronously and explore the changes to the land of our county.
Anyone interested in reviewing the POR books can call (951) 486-7327 or email the Robert J. Fitch Archives at countyofriversidearchives@asrclkrec.com to make an appointment.
For more information about our collections, location, and appointment hours, please visit: https://www.rivcoacr.org/RiversideCountyArchives
Collected every 5 to 7 years these records reflect each assessed owner(s) name, the corresponding transfer document number (such as a deed), legal description of the land, and assessed value for a variety of variables.
The assessment values are divided into three categories: land, structures and agriculture. The land category does not reflect a dollar value - it typically mirrors the legal description of the property as recorded on the transfer document. On the other hand, the structures and agriculture categories do not contain specific descriptions, but rather are limited to dollar values.
Combining these categories, researchers can analyze the year-to-year changes in assessment values to estimate changes to the land’s development. For example, using a 1940’s POR, if the structure value of a specific property increased from $300 to $500 in one year while the same value did not change for other parcels in the same area, researchers can infer that an additional building was permitted and built on that property.
Similarly, if agriculture values decreased for a large parcel, it could signal the land owner lowered their produce production.
We are currently working on completing our digitization and preservation efforts for the POR collection.
Due to the references to other collections, POR books act as a starting point for most research, making them our most used collection.
We plan to make the digital images readily available online to allow researchers to access them asynchronously and explore the changes to the land of our county.
Anyone interested in reviewing the POR books can call (951) 486-7327 or email the Robert J. Fitch Archives at countyofriversidearchives@asrclkrec.com to make an appointment.
For more information about our collections, location, and appointment hours, please visit: https://www.rivcoacr.org/RiversideCountyArchives
Thank you to this month's contributor!
Courtesy of
Riverside County
from the collection of ...
