A Thousand Acres | Objects, Setting & Important Places

A Thousand Acres Objects/Places

Zebulon County

Fictitious County in the American heartland, which contains two fictitious towns, Cabot and Pike. Beyond them are two real Iowa cities, Mason City and Des Moines.

Larry Cook's 1000-Acre Farm

In 1890, Ginny's grandmother Edith's parents bought 80 acres, sight unseen, in rural Zebulon County: their land was a marsh which, when drained, revealed the fertile soil underneath. When Ginny's grandfather John Cook married Edith, aged 16 at the time, his 160 acres were merged with her 80, making the farm 240 acres. After Edith's death in 1939, John and his son Larry purchased two more parcels, one 180 and the other 220 acres (640 acres total, a section). By the time Larry married, the farm was well drained (and heavily fertilized). After Ginny's mother's death, Larry purchased the Ericson's 370 acres. The full expanse of the farm could be seen from the T-intersection of County Road 686 and the Cabot Street Road. After...
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