8 EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 344 



predominantly light, gravelly, sandy, and stony glacial loams of fair to 

 poor agricultural productivity. The heavier loams support good forage 

 crops and pasture, but cultivation is limited by stones and rough topog- 

 raphy. 



The aggregate year-round population of the three towns in 1940 

 was only 1,600, hut population nearly doubles during the summer. Trunk- 

 line highways carry heavy seasonal traffic through Sanbornton and 

 Tuftonboro, but travel within Francestown is almost wholly for local 

 purposes. Social life revolves about local village centers, but most of the 

 trading is done in larger centers nearby. Resident households in each 

 town rely upon multiple sources of income, both farm and nonfarm. This, 

 in brief, is the setting in which recreational development is taking place. 



FORCES UNDERLYING THE RECREATIONAL 



DEVELOPMENT 



The industrial centralization of the first quarter of the twentieth cen- 

 tury increased the demand of city people for rural vacation properties. 

 The same forces, coupled with the agricultural development of the more 

 fertile west, weakened the demand for year-round residential and farm 

 properties in rural areas of northern New England. As a result, where 

 rural properties were judged suitable for recreational use, the price bids 

 of prospective summer residents were usually above the price bids of 

 prospective farmers or local laborers. The lack of bids for other uses 

 and the availability of vacant properties speeded up the shift to recrea- 

 tional use in many areas. In the three sample towns the rate of purchase 

 of summer homes was accelerated after 1925. The demand for "farm real 

 estate" for vacation use increased markedly, as farm properties became 

 more accessible and available, and their possession became more fashion- 

 able. 



Knowledge of the forces underlying the demand for summer homes, 

 the segments of the population which perpetuate this demand, and the 

 channels through which personal desires are satisfied, is essential to an 

 understanding of the effects of summer homes on the present or future 

 economy of rural areas. 



Motives and Process of Purchase 



Many summer residents admitted only vague conceptions of the 

 rational and irrational motives that prompted their desires for vacation 

 homes and influenced the choice of particular sites. The aggregate state- 

 ments do indicate, however, the relative weight of significant factors that 

 have influenced the demand for recreational properties. 



Motivation 



A variety of interests prompted urban residents to buy rural vacation 

 homes or other properties which later were adapted to recreational use. 

 Four-fifths of all summer residents bought properties primarily to get 



