- Free Acres
Free Acres is an unincorporated community located within Berkeley Heights,
New Jersey ,United States . Free Acres was created in 1910 as a social experiment by Bolton Hall, a New York entrepreneur and reformer. Hall believed in the idea of economistHenry George of single taxation, under which residents pay aland value tax to the community based on the value of the land alone, and in turn, the community pays a lump sum to the municipality.The 75 acre wooded community of 85 households is located about convert|33|mi|km west of
New York City . Residents own their houses, but pay a lease for the land, which is owned collectively by the community. Free Acres also consists of a farmhouse and a spring-fed pool. To this day, residents of Free Acres pay tax to the Free Acres Association, which is now a more common version of theproperty tax , based on the value of the land and any improvements. The Association maintains the community's streets and swimming pool, approves architectural changes to homes and pays a lump sum in taxes to the Berkeley Heights municipality.Among the early residents of Free Acres were actor
James Cagney and his wife, Billie.External links
* [http://www.freeacres.org/ Free Acres community website]
* [http://bernard.pitzer.edu/~lyamane/free.htm A history of Free Acres]
* [http://formsmaven.home.comcast.net/ Another resident's page]
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