The origin of Farm Towns lies in the common medieval sub-division of land called a ploughgate (104 acres), the extent of land which one plough team of oxen could till in a year. This area was again subdivided into four husbandlands, each of . Each husbandland could provide two oxen and eight oxen were need for a plough-team. This arrangement led to small farm towns like Hessilhead being established with accommodation for at least four men in six to eight houses, taking practical considerations into account. A similar 'ferm toun' existed at Bloak, near Auchentiber, until the 1890s.