transformed into something new to the American scene, the suburban
town, but it remained impractical for most people to live farther from
the station than a convenient walk. When electric car lines were
added, the distance was extended materially and the farm lands just
outside these suburban towns took on new value. Near car lines, they
could be sold to those not primarily concerned with agriculture. The
interurban electric roads also made many so-called abandoned farms in
various parts of the country practical for families who wished to live
farther from commercial centers either throughout the year or for the
summer months, since they provided that great essential, a quick
means of getting to shopping towns. Still great sections of back
country, too far from railroads and electric car lines, remained
strictly rural.

Finally the automobile, made inexpensive enough for families of
average income and provided with that great innovation, the
self-starter, changed it all. This was not so very long ago.
Approximately with the World War came the moderate-priced car that
need not be cranked by hand. Driving it was no longer a sporting male
occupation too often marred by broken arms and sprained wrists, the
painful outcome of hand-cranking when the motor "back-fired." With the
self-starter car driving went feminine. Mother, as well as father,
could and did drive. It was now practical for automobile owning
families to live farther from railroad stations and villages.

Unnoticed at the time, a new sort of pioneering began. City-dwelling
people turned hungry eyes toward the cheap country farmhouses located
beyond limits of horse and carriage travel. By 1920, this trend was in
full swing and greatly expedited by the program of highway improvement
and rebuilding that spread across the country.