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Ledger: The rebirth of a community |
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 |
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Page 1 of 2 By Adam Jerome, I-O Intern
 NEW CONSTRUCTION – There is a hub of activity going on in Ledger as Dry Fork Ag continues to make improvements. Under construction, to the left, is a new building for chemical storage. To the right are the fertilizer and chemical storage which will soon be separated. The old elevator to the right is in the process of going down. The new business operation center is located in a spacious new office at the base of the elevator to the left. I-O Photo by Buck Traxler
Before Dry Fork Agriculture set up shop, Ledger had suffered the same fate of many other small agricultural towns, resulting in near ghost town status. The reasons for the loss in population are many, but the largest cause would have to be the changes in farming practices over the last 50 years.
Fifty years ago it took a whole family and a few hired men to run a family farm, but as time has passed, the farming business has become less labor intensive, requiring fewer and fewer individuals to manage the farm. With the increasing use of larger implements in farming, one farmer can now do the job of five.
The days of small family farms are quickly vanishing. Large corporate farms are buying up small farms at an alarming rate, which is just as quickly deteriorating local populations.
CRP has also played a large or larger role in the loss of population. CRP has enabled farmers to take land out of production while still being able to make a living. With the loss of production, fewer acres are now farmable.
Cities like Conrad are suffering this loss of population, but the real stories are on communities like Ledger. While larger communities may be able to withstand the loss in population to a certain degree, areas like Ledger slowly begin to wither up and die as most of the citizens either move to different areas to find work or move to Conrad to enjoy the “city life.”
Ledger was founded in 1910 as an agricultural community. The town site was optimal, because of its close proximity to the railroad. BY 1931 it contained an elevator, dance hall and a store with a pool hall attached.
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