Population Density: 4
December 4, 2011
An article I read recently mentioned population density — people per square mile. The term left my brain until the other day when I was driving into town. Our farm is on the northeast corner of a section, which is 640 acres or one square mile. Population density for that square mile: 4. Us.
Head a mile north. Population density: 0. Head a mile south: 0. East: 0. West: 0.
We do have neighbors, who live just outside the sections around us. But, “aloneness” is one of the reasons we love our rural life. And, it quiets the soul to look at land free of electric poles.
From Sand Creek 
January 10, 2012 at 11:06 am
My family has a farm near Davis, Calif. When the house was built a century ago, it was said they could look out in every direction and not see another structure.
There’s something to be said for being able to get away from it all, even if not too many people today can handle that kind of solitude. I envy your particular patch of the world.
January 10, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Kevin, thanks for reading. A 100-year-old farmstead in California? That’s old by an standard. Does your family still farm? Glad to have met you here. Looking forward to reading your blog.
January 10, 2012 at 8:36 pm
Lynn, my family farmed the land from the middle of the Civil War up until my great-uncle retired in the late 1970s. He and my great-aunt actually lived in the 100-year-old house until approximately two years ago, when both died within a year of each other at age 99.
Since the late ’70s we’ve leased it out to the same farmer, and plan to continue doing so for as long as possible. If I didn’t love living in the South so much, I’d consider moving into it the house, but I also know agriculture is a profession that requires substantial knowledge and more than just a little capital.
And thanks for taking time to read my blog, as well.
January 11, 2012 at 8:24 am
Fascinating. What a rich family history. Thanks for sharing.