A Forgotten Landscape

A place called Crockett's Corner began as a seventeenth century colonial settlement that grew into a stable and sustainable nineteenth century American agrarian landscape. During the twentieth century, in a rapid but staged process, the landscape was changed into an edge city. These changes were the direct result, especially after 1938, of prevailing public policies which acted to constrain some land uses while supporting others. Landscape change has had unintended consequences, including local social network destruction, historic building demolition, and unmitigated air and non-point source water pollution. Raising awareness of the deep history of this place may help empower advocates for historic preservation, open space, environmental protection and more sustainable land use practices in the future.