The Chores
Anatomy of an Acreage
Matthew Miller
The unit known as 2470 Old Cheney Road
consists, for legal purposes, of an approximately 10.5-acre property a little south of Milford, Seward County, Nebraska. For longtime residents of the area, it may simply be referred to as “the old Conklin place.” Its human in-habitants and their friends know it simply as “The Depot.” Each of these designations assumes to a greater or lesser degree that the unit receives its unity and its identity from human actors. The address is a legal code signifying human location and ownership; the “Conklin place” ties the land to its former human inhabitants; and “the Depot,” though per-
haps the least purely human appelation, still identies the whole of the
land simply with the house--a converted railroad depot.In fact, however, the unit considered here is made up of much more than legal designation, human inhabitants, or the human dwelling. The Depot
(for so I will stubbornly call it, nding that the most convenient and warm
-est name) is made up not just of human laws and human dwellings, but of a wide range of entities, from the land itself to plants, animals, and technolo-
gies. The 10.5 acres of the property nd their practical unity not so much in
the fact that all the land has one owner as in the work and dwelling of all the numerous entities which inhabit it.The Depot with its many inhabitants is maintained daily by the work of human inhabitants--by their chores--but also and equally by the work of minerals, animals, plants, and energies. Just as a city is sustained by its sewers and its public transit and its power lines, so the acreage is sus-tained by the work of these many actors. These entities create The Depot in their work together, in their relating. The following will explore these constituative chores undertaken by all inhabitants of The Depot and its grounds.
Getting a grasp on The Depot
Windbreak: rows of trees and bushesWoodlot: trees planted for fuelSewage lagoonDuck coop(under tree)Manmade runoff pond
2The Chores
House and garageThe Depot’s bounds encompass approxi-mately 10.5 acres of land, most of it covered with grass; four buildings and a treehouse; two bodies of water and a seasonal swim-ming pool; a concrete driveway totaling a city block in length; hundreds of trees, most of them planted over the last ten years; electric lines, water and sewage pipes, and culverts; and thousans of other plants.Chicken coopand yardSteel barnConcrete drivewayGardensOrchardFront windbreakThe known history of The Depot goes back to the mid-1970’s, when a retired train conductor named Conklin moved Milford’s unused train depot onto land south of town and converted it into a house. After his death, his widow lived on the property until 2001, when the cur-rent occupants moved in. In this undated photo from early in the property’s known history, several outbuildings can be seen that are no longer in existence, and the pond has not yet been dug. It is also noteable how many trees have been added: a few before 2001, but the vast majority by the current owners.
Transforming The Depot
Here we trace the major features of The Depot’s landscape in order to help the read-er get a grasp on the totality of the unit. Land, plants, animals, human infrastructure and elemental features all interact in this im-age.