than 100 students. The school is still active, but seldom with more than fifteen students. There was a dock with an advanced system for packaging and freezing fish, and several quartz mines. Along with hundreds of thousands of Norwegians, many inhabitants of Sandøya emigrated from Norway to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sandøya experienced a sharp decline in population during the first half of the 20th century, as sailing was replaced with steam-powered boats. In the early 1970s, the population reached an all-time low, and the school survived a year or two with only two pupils. However, several families found the car-free and safe island a good place to raise children. The population steadily increased, the number of school children increased, and a new grocery store opened. The store is currently (fall 2006) expanding. Preserving the community One factor which has helped to increase the population is district-friendly legislation executed by Tvedestrand municipality called "boplikt". The law forbids sale of houses to buyers, who do not live all year on Sandøya. The result is that the houses on the island are artificially low priced. The law is debated, and there have been several efforts to change it, but it is still in effect. References External links Sandoya.com Islands of Agder Tvedestrand