Fort Darby is the headquarters of Darby Rural, the parent company of several rurally focused enterprises dedicated to providing the rural experience to their customers, employees, vendors and the community to which they belong.  It is much like a fort from the early days of America when the pioneers were building small communities in the west.  These communities were made up of adventurous, free people who deeply valued the independence and responsibility that came with engaging a wild land.  As they discovered the glory and beauty unfolding around them, they shared from their life experience and ability to create a community that would provide the resources they each needed. 
          The focal point of Fort Darby is in and around the building that houses the offices and meeting rooms of Darby Rural.  It employs somewhere around 100 people who are living their life’s vision as they participate in Darby Building Supply, PCR Contracting, Inc., Darby Small Buildings, Darby Permit Services and Darby Consulting.  These offices and meeting rooms are frequented by the people of the community that Fort Darby serves.  While there are offices and work spaces for the people employed by the many facets of Darby Rural, there are also community meeting rooms that provide for gatherings of anywhere from 10 to 250 people.  These are in use regularly for business lunches, workshops, town hall type meetings and social activities (dances, parties and fundraisers). 
          Also a part of this focal point is Darby Building Supply.  This is the place you go to get the things you need for the projects you are working on at the homestead.  It supplies building materials for pole and steel building kits and all the materials associated with building barns and shops and garages (door parts, fencing, stall materials, feeders and waterers, tools, nails, insulation and lumber just to name a few).  It is a rural lumber supply store.  
          While Darby Rural and Darby Building Supply occupy a large part of the fort and are situated right in the middle of everything, it is “the everything” they are in the middle of that makes this more than just another business.  Surrounding them are a multitude of buildings that house additional rurally focused enterprises.  Among them are a wood working shop, a metal fabrication shop (the blacksmith), a shop that is focused on building hot rods, a tack and feed store (for cattle, alpacas, llamas and sheep as well as horses), a garden shop with an associated garden of more than 3 acres and a fruit and vegetable stand, RV storage, a bicycle repair shop, a little diner, a white chapel with a steeple, a park and a fishing hole and at the back of it all an equestrian center that houses 15 horses and an arena, a round pen and 30 acres of riding area.
          Each of these is operated by people who have spent their lives learning skills that make them masters of their craft.  Most are retired from careers and now spending their time sharing what they have gleaned.  They have in common an independent work ethic and a depth of well defined character that makes them fiercely passionate about their approach to life and their belief in the value of rural life in particular.  They also share a commitment to pass what they have learned to those who haven’t yet.  They work part time and are committed to mentoring through relationship.  They either work with several young people in “on the job training” programs or the earlier mentioned green horns that go through shorter programs to learn certain aspects of a craft (along with free but very intentional character lessons) that they can then apply to their own homesteads.
          Each of these individual enterprises represents the epitome of their craft.  They are supplied with all the necessary tools and room to be effective.  What they produce is hand made and of the highest quality both in materials and craftsmanship.  The work and the work environment provide example for those who would like to create a similar environment and pursue that particular craft on their own homestead.  
Though all of these enterprises function as profitable businesses, their most important impact comes from the feeling and connection they produce in people.  Young people recieve the opportunity to learn both craft and character.  Their efforts are rewarded and proven valuable by the appreciation of people who purchase the products they produce at Saturday markets (held on the property) and during the week.  The sharing of knowledge and wisdom also benefits those who are new to rural life.   They have brought their family from the city to the country and begun to discover the environment they could not find before.  The sharing of this discovery is what creates the most important impact and generates the power of community. 
The feeling of the place (Fort Darby and all associated enterprises) comes from the way it works as a community.  Its existence is based on the need to discover the individual experience of rural life and share it.  The individual experience is shared by two types of people:  those who have been living on and from the land for generations, and those who have just recently discovered that the convenience of the metropolis is not a fair trade for the independence and freedom that must be sacrificed.  Both of these types have embraced the responsibility of living on a piece of land and participating in a community.  One of the types is familiar with the lifestyle and its associated activities, one wants to be.  The old timers and the green horns alike spend time at Fort Darby because it is the place they fit or want to fit. 

          Imagine this scenario.  Bob the city slicker has just bought five acres in Ridgefield.  He still works in the city at an insurance agency, but has moved his family out to the country because he is tired of the noise and crime and whatever else is bothering him that he can’t quite put a finger on.  On his way home from work, after leaving early today to run an errand, he stops off at Fort Darby.  He parks his Nissan in front of the boardwalk, climbs out and stops for a minute looking at his key fob.  He decides he doesn’t need to lock it and throws the keys on the front seat before closing the door.  All this happens under the watchful eyes of Frank and Bill who are sitting in rocking chairs by the checkerboard on the covered boardwalk.  They quietly approve of the trust and hope displayed by the keys on the front seat of Bob’s car.

As Bob climbs the steps to the wood boardwalk, he offers a tentative “howdy” to the men playing checkers.  He notices that they are watching and feels distinctly out of place under their quiet inspection.  Bill, a retired merchant marine whose 60 acre farm has been in the family for three generations, runs about 50 head of cattle and a small rhubarb garden.  He also collects and restores old tractors and has become the local tractor repair expert.
He looks at Bob and says, “You were right on leavin’ the keys, don’t need locks out here.” 
Frank, a 72 year old structural engineer who loves turning exotic wood into bowls and vases on a lathe says, “You’re new ‘round here.”  It’s less of a question than a statement. 
Bob looks at his shoes and says “Shows huh?” 
Bill says, “yep, sit down and tell us what you need.” 
Bob looks at the door into the store with a question on his face that clearly asks, “who are these guys and why don’t I go inside for what I need?” 
Frank says, “it’s ok son, sit down, we’ll help you out.”  So Bob sits down and proceeds to spend the next hour telling his story and listening to Bill and Frank argue about fencing techniques, the best kind of tractors and whether the big snow was in ’69 or ’70.  When it’s all done, he has a list of parts for the new fence he wanted and plenty of valuable advice for getting it built.  Frank’s son is coming out on Saturday to help and Bob has agreed to bring his family to the Fort Sunday after church for a picnic and some painting that needs to be done on one of the buildings.  He goes into the store and meets Mable, the old gal behind the counter who rings up his order, gives him some more friendly help, more advice and sends him on his way with an overly large home made cookie.  He also discovers the coffee window on the West side that is open at 5:00 and offers free cowboy coffee to anyone who helps out at the Fort (since Bob is helping with the painting project, he is now one of the guys).
It’s not the purchase of fence supplies or the grasp of rural life that makes Bob feel like Fort Darby is home.  It’s the acceptance by the old timers.  They didn’t treat him like an equal, but they accepted him and respected him.  They treated him like a man who deserved their attention and he left feeling better about himself and the decision he made to move to the country.  He’ll come back on Sunday and take part in the ownership and care of the community that happens in and around the collection of buildings called Fort Darby.  Next time he stops by on the way home from work, he will get to share knowingly with Frank and Bill.  They will laugh good naturedly at his mistakes and compliment him on his successes.  He will be that much less green and much more determined to conquer his 5 acres.  In a few years, he will be sitting on the front porch and some new guy will need help figuring out his fence…
He will raise his family and grow old with his wife discovering together that life is about something important and sharing it with his neighbors, whoever they might be.                               
That’s what Rural Life is.