The Old German Baptist Brethren: Faith, Farming, and Change in the Virginia Blue Ridge

by Charles D. Thompson Jr., Charles D. Thompson

Since arriving nearly 250 years ago in Franklin County, Virginia, German Baptists have maintained their faith and farms by relying on their tightly knit community for spiritual and economic support. Today, with their land and livelihoods threatened by the encroachment of neighboring communities, the construction of a new highway, and competition from corporate megafarms, the German Baptists find themselves forced to adjust._x000B_Charles D. Thompson Jr.'s The Old German Baptist Brethren combines oral history with ethnography and archival research--as well as his own family ties to the Franklin County community--to tell the story of the Brethren's faith on the cusp of impending change. The book traces the transformation of their operations from frontier subsistence farms to cash-based enterprises, connecting this with the wider confluence of agriculture and faith in colonial America. Using extensive interviews, Thompson looks behind the scenes at how individuals interpret their own futures in farming, their hope for their faith, and how the failure of religiously motivated agriculture figures in the larger story of the American farmer. _x000B_

219 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2006

Reviews

[Joe Vess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, illuminating look at this really interesting community.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

for anyone who wants to know about "the County", aka Franklin County. This give a great perspective on the history of farming where i grew up and now the challenges of the current dairy farmers living in the area -- exploring the different perspectives of selling the farm for development, aka $$$ vs. continuing the family farm tradition. excellent read, although gets long at end.