CHAPTER 1
 INTRODUCTION

 Rural communities remain a source of identity for many people. Most of the rural

localities established in the last century remain today, and their residents continue to

invest in them with social value, despite changing economic and social relationships

(Goudy & Ryan, 1982). Hobbs (1995) described the role of agriculture in communities

as follows:

 The special role of agriculture in the overall development of U.S. rural and
 community life is not simply attributable to production from the land. The actual
 form of production (large numbers of small farmers owning and operating their
 own land) in much of rural America contributed most to the institutions and
 organizations established to support agriculture and rural life. Despite local
 differences in organization, most rural people shared dependence on agriculture,
 the methods by which it was practiced, and the ideologies that surrounded it. This
 homogeneity of farmers' interests and practices helped reinforce the social
 foundations of the settlements. (p. 377)

 After the Civil War, the growth of industrialization generated new markets for

agricultural production, and the completion of railroads linked agricultural producers

with the external markets. An early consequence of increased market dependency was

the emergence of farmer's movements that provided the foundation for what would

become general farm organizations. Agriculture led the way in breaking from local

institutional constraints and connecting with the institutions of the larger society

(Mooney & Majka, 1995).

 During the late 1800s, the Grange and the Farmer's Alliances were two of the

prominent agricultural movements of the time. The Grange was originally established as