In 1915, some 1,500 people lived in Burke's Garden. Things were going along good. Even so, farmers and their families managed carefully, wasting nothing. Today's Garden population is about 260, plus a handful of summer folk. Many small farms have sold out to bigger ones.
Some young people leave.
The land could be broken up into farmettes, Hoge says, or perhaps bought up by big corporations. The coal fields affect the sale of Burke's Garden land more than anything else. Recently three Amish families bought land. Excellent farmers, with a pre-World War II lifestyle, they have built a school for the 23 children among them. To avoid concentration of visitors and vehicles, activities take place at 20-some individual homes and farms.