Compton — Richland Farms resident Nathaniel Bryant, 47, rides one of his carriages down West Bennett Street in the semirural 10-square-block area in Compton near the 91 Freeway. Each morning, Bryant gets up before the sun rises to tend to his livestock, which includes five horses.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Compton — Nathaniel Bryant washes one of his horses in the warmth of the early morning light in his Richland Farms backyard. Bryant owns five horses and operates a horse-and-carriage business in this unique rural community in Compton. The 10-square block area allows residents to raise horses, pigs, chickens and other livestock in a community where African Americans and Latinos live, work and bond side-by-side.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Compton — Richland Farms resident Michael Ransford, 53, stands in the doorway of his weathered garage. Ransford and his family raise geese, pigs and horses on their rural property.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Compton — The Rev. Lloyd Wilkins and his neighbor Michael Ransford gather in the backyard of a friend in the Richland Farms community of Compton, which has managed to preserve a rural way of life despite recent challenges to its zoning. The 10-square block area near the 91 Freeway allows residents to raise horses, pigs, chickens and live an agricultural life on very large lots.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Compton — Eighty-one-year-old Aurora Rios is greeted by her Richland Farms neighbor, the Rev. Lloyd Wilkins. Rios moved to Richland Farms 50 years ago with her husband, where they raised more than 300 rabbits. Richland Farms is a little-known area of Compton that has managed to preserve a rural way of life where African American and Latino farmers and residents live side-by-side.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Compton — Anthony Moultrie and his son AJ stand in the driveway of their home in Richland Farms. The 10-square-block community near the 91 Freeway allows residents to raise horses, pigs, chickens and live an agricultural life on very large lots.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Compton — In addition to miniature horses, goats, rabbits and ducks, Anthony Moultrie and his family raise chickens on their Richland Farms property.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Compton — Jocie Renaga walks a miniature pony through her Richland Farms yard. Renaga owns several horses and allows the neighborhood kids to come in and take rides. She loves the neighborhood feel of Richland Farms and enjoys the diversity of the 10-square-block area of Compton.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Compton — Life in Nathaniel Bryant's Richland Farms backyard is a study in constant motion while he feeds, waters, walks and maintains his livestock.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Compton — The geese in Michael Ransford's Richland Farms backyard are noisy and nervous while a stranger takes their picture.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Compton — Wearing his distinctive long black overcoat and western hat, Lloyd Wilkins takes a stroll down West Bennett Street in the Richland Farms neighborhood. Wilkins, 72, dubbed "the villiage chief," also goes by Dr. Wilkins and the Rev. Wilkins in an agricultural community measuring 10-square blocks near the 91 Freeway. Wilkins is the spiritual leader of the community of mostly African American and Latino residents and fears that increasing development pressures are threatening the future of Richland Farms and the rich agricultural way of life.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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