I’m a historian by training. I graduated with a degree in history from the University of Iowa while researching aspects of the Cold War. I earned an advanced degree from the University of Houston researching colonial, Revolutionary, and Constitutional history.
My love of history recently brought me to a place where I’ve become more and more concerned about how we are treating our historic places. Recently, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) released its annual list of the most endangered historic places for 2024. I was shocked when I saw the Lexington and Concord Revolutionary War battle site on the list (including Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond and Woods,) along with the Civil War’s Battle for the Wilderness.
According to the NTHP’s monthly newsletter announcing “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2024”:
“Minute Man National Historical Park (MMNHP,) Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond and Woods, and nearby areas of Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, and Beford are home to places of great significance in American history. The 1775 ‘shot heard round the world’ that began the Revolutionary War took place in what is now MMNHP, and the area includes preserved homes open to the public such as Orchard House, where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set Little Women, the Robbins House, commemorating a formerly enslaved Revolutionary War veteran, and Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond and Woods. Visitors draw inspiration from these places significant to the American literary renaissance and environmental movements.”
“However, a proposed major expansion of Hanscom Field Airport, which directly abuts MMNHP, could significantly increase aviation activity over nearby historic and natural landscapes, doubling private jet hangar capacity, and increasing the airport footprint in what would be the largest expansion in Hanscom’s history, if approved. Advocates are concerned that the proposed development could lead to increased noise disruption in an area that is already impacted by noise from jet traffic, often interrupting park programming. Advocates also cite the potential for increased vehicular traffic and negative environmental and climate impacts of private jets.”
“This is not the first time this area has been threatened by proposed changes to Hanscom Field. In 2003, MMNHP and nearby historic sites were included on the National Trust’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, helping ward off potential jet expansion at Hanscom. A strong coalition has formed in opposition to the new proposed expansion, advocating that this extraordinarily important historic area of the United States’ struggle for independence is not the right place for a development of this scale and potential impact, and the National Trust is once again joining these efforts.”
Meanwhile, in Orange County, Virginia, the Civil War’s Wilderness Battlefield area is under attack by developers:
“In May, 1864, the Battle of the Wilderness marked a pivotal turning point in the Civil War. In the wake of the battle, and despite heavy casualties and an inconclusive tactical outcome, Union General Ulysses S. Grant continued south, pursuing Confederate forces and forcing their surrender the following year. Today, the Battle of the Wilderness site anchors the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.”
“However, not all the area’s significant sites are protected, and new developments have the potential to negatively impact important historic landscapes. In 2023, Orange County approved rezoning over 2,600 acres, some located within the historic battlefield boundaries, for the ‘Wilderness Crossing’ development. As approved, the project could include millions of square feed of data centers and distribution warehouses, commercial space, thousands of homes, and road construction on previously undeveloped land where soldiers fought and died. Advocates are concerned about potential visual intrusions, noise, and traffic around one of the most intact historic battlefields in the region, where nearly 500,000 visitors come annually for quiet reflection on a difficult chapter in American history.”
“A broad coalition has formed in opposition, including the Journey Through Hallowed Ground, American Battlefield Trust, The Piedmont Environmental Council, National Parks Conservation Association, Preservation Virginia and others. This area has experienced development threats before: in 2010, the National Trust included Wilderness Battlefield on the list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places when a big box store was proposed. As a result, the Wilderness Battlefield Gateway Plan was created to guide new development, and the store was built elsewhere. Advocates are now encouraging decisionmakers to build upon these efforts, heed community opposition, and avoid negative impacts to the historic landscapes of the Wilderness Battlefield area.”
One of the first signs of a declining civilization is the loss of cultural identity. When we start favoring development over preservation too much, we begin to mess with the stuff that makes us who we are.
Friday News Roundup tomorrow. Til then. SVB
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