Our southern rural landscape is flavored by romantic ruins of our agricultural heritage. Lonely chimneys and two room wooden cabins mark the efforts of past tenant farmers difficult lives. Hidden within these dwellings are clues to living sustainably with what nature provides, a slumbering educator to show us how to build fireplaces that draw, buildings that stay cool in the heat of summer without air conditioning, and whose “carbon footprint” is quite small.
Unfortunately, the forces of man and nature work against these romantic structures so that some repair and dedication to their presentation is required. Besides the expected and repairable degradation by termites, storms, and encroachment of plant life such as tree roots, the largest single destructor of these shacks is county property taxes. Although often not in use as a dwelling, these buildings are taxed, thus penalizing the property owner for his preservation efforts. But even as a ruin these lonely sentinels create aesthetic interest in the rural landscape and a home for barn owls, rat snakes, bee hives and the sometimes enterprising deer hunter.
If we lose these shacks to modern indifference we will lose our anchor to the past from which we have much to learn. Generations of accumulated knowledge by trial and error will be gone with the wind, only a historical footnote. With awareness and a little effort, the next generation can wonder, contemplate, and be thankful for the early work of those who built their lives on the land.
