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| Springfield's Last Farm The first in a series on the demise of the American family farm, I started this pastel painting on location, took pictures of the pastoral scene, and finished it in the studio. The farmer himself told me that it was Springfield VA's last farm, a result of "suburbanization." Located about 25 miles outside Washington, D.C., the county government seized an elderly landowner's property by eminent domain for the betterment of its community (i.e., where this farm was is now softball fields, tennis courts, a public library, and parking lots). After his property was "down-sized," he was taxed as though he owned commercial property so opted to sell much of his remaining land to a developer. Small family farms are disappearing from the American landscape. According to Farm Aid, every week 330 farmers leave their land. As a result, there are now nearly five million fewer farms in the USA than there were in the 1930's. As established family farms are shut down, new farms are not replacing them. Very few young people become farmers today. Children go to college, young adults move to the cities to find employment, farms are divided into smaller parcels of land by developers, and acreage may be seized by eminent domain when the government (county or state) wants it for roads, schools, or other projects. The original pastel is in a private collection but limited edition prints and note cards are available. |
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