Isolated farm communities played a significant part in the formation of new states in America. The countryside was dotted with family operated farms. Virginia's inventor, Cyrus McCormick patented the mechanical reaper in 1834 and instigated a move toward powered farm implements. With greatly improved equipment, production on large farms soared. Smaller farms were unable to compete. Modern equipment was not affordable and mostly impractical on small plots of land. Midwestern farms and northern strip-mines undercut Virginia's food and natural resource prices. The widening gap in production forced lower prices and removed western Virginia's goods from countrywide trade. Western Virginia and West Virginia were slowly led into trade isolation and relied on self sufficiency.
This farm located near the town of Meadows of Dan has escaped deserved attention and has withered with neglect. Although this rural farm building is viewed by some as picturesque, it also reminds us of the negative affects of isolationism.