Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 16 · column 4 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
According to Col. Bingham, real estate — and not agriculture or tourism — is Rappahannock’s biggest business. And he maintained that this business is unfairly constrained, citing as evidence statistics from Land Along the Blue Ridge: Ownership and Use of Land in Rappahannock County, Virginia, a U. S. Department of Agriculture economic research report prepared by Gene Wunderlich and published in 1975. It was based on census data compiled in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
According to Col. Bingham, Mr. Wunderlich’s study found that 16 percent of the county’s residents own 77 percent of the land; of the remaining 84 percent, 65 percent own 25 acres or less, he said. And 31 percent of that 65 percent make less than $10,000 a year. Col. Bingham reported.
“I’ve heard members of the Board of Supervisors say, ‘If they need more land [to meet the twoacre minimum lot size for a family division], let them buy it.’ They can’t afford to buy it!” the Jackson District representative contended, adding “I’m ashamed to be associated” with Rappahannock’s governing body.
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