Family farms losing ground to development
Source: News 8 Austin, by Heidi Zhou
April 20, 2008
There was a time when the land between Manor and Austin was nothing but countryside.
Not anymore. Urban growth is leading to the disappearance of the area's family farms.
One farm belonged to the family of local artist Virginia Vaughan for four generations.
"Our children were raised here. Every hay bale, every sunrise reminds me of a day with them," Vaughan said.
She's capturing those memories in 24 paintings of the farm, that she will complete in 24 hours. Soon, the paintings will be all the family has left because the farm was sold to developers.
"We're in an area that Austin finally grew out to," Vaughan said.
It started two decades ago when Parmer Lane cut through the farm. With no way to protect their animals from traffic, the family sold the land on the other side. Then, suburbia popped up next door. The last straw came about two years ago, when construction for toll road 130 appeared on the horizon.
The family knew then it was time to go.
"It took a while for the growth to get this far. People need a place to live, and that's just part of it," Vaughan said.
The same thing is happening all over Central Texas, Jim Walker of the responsible growth nonprofit Envision Central Texas said.
"The pressure to convert farm land just keeps going up. And it becomes harder and harder for a family farm to be financially viable," he said.
Vaughan's family saw it as a pointless battle and sold everything to developers.
But Vaughan is still hopeful that nature's essence will live on even after the land is changed.
"Although there will be houses here one day, there's still birds. There's still new life, There's still seasons," she said.
Virginia Vaughan's "Last Year on the Farm" paintings were recently shown in Nebraska.
Their next stop is Rockport, where they'll be on display in May
and June.
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