Help honor our ancestors ...

Join one of the many and varied efforts to protect our historic and scenic heritage!


I have assembled below a list of respected groups who are doing the best work in the areas of historic preservation and scenic preservation.   As federal subsidies decrease (particularly for the National Trust for Historic Preservation), these non-profit groups need your support more now than ever.  In many instances, donations allow property to be purchased and then turned over to local, state or the federal government for public use.  These are generally bi-partisan, apolitical groups so in most cases your donation is tax deductible. 

town_facades.gif (4422 bytes)

Preserve the Battlefields...

General:

Specific Sites:

town_facades.gif (4422 bytes)

Preserve our Historic Buildings and Sites...

 

town_facades.gif (4422 bytes)

Rural Land Conservation...

General

By State

 

town_facades.gif (4422 bytes)

How you can help with your hands...

 

town_facades.gif (4422 bytes)

Do your legislators vote to save or pave?

Worst of the Worst...

Rep. Helen Chenoweth, (R-ID)
Del. James Scott (D-Fairfax, VA House of Delegates)
Del. Thomas M. Jackson, Jr. (D-Carroll, VA House of Delegates)

 

town_facades.gif (4422 bytes)

 

Bad Corporate (and other) Citizens...
An unscientific listing derived from careful but subjective observation!
Your candidates are welcome!

Autozone:  In 1999, Autozone (one of the nation's largest autoparts businesses), destroyed many ancient oak trees that were once owned by Daniel W. & Helen Hastings of Syracuse, NY.  There was great citizen concern because these old trees were not only beautiful and thriving but were also related to the cities role in the Underground Railroad.  To circumvent local intervention, Autozone came in during the dead of night and removed all of the trees.  They made no effort to incorporate any of the trees in their building design and clearly had no concern for the citizens or history of Syracuse.

William A. "Til" Hazel (and his development company):  Probably the one most responsible for massive suburbanization of Northern Virginia.  He has profited immensely and, to my knowledge, has never made a good faith effort to preserve or save anything of value to the state and its citizens.  His projects have done immense damage to Civil War sites where our Hastings cousins fought and died.

Security Development Corp. (and their subsidiary the Security Development Group):  The company, owned by the Moxley family in Howard County, MD, is responsible for destroying several historic buildings and countless farms in that county.  Ironically, the Moxley's are an old, established Howard County family who, rather than honoring their ancestors, have chosen to preside over the uncontrolled suburbanization of the region.  When asked by a respected (and retired) state political figure why they tore down the approximately 200 year old home of his ancestors a Moxley replied, "well, if we don't do it someone else will."  This sums it up their perverse philosphy and earns them a solid place on this list.

Rite Aid Pharmacy:   This chain has a very bad habit nationally of buying property in historic downtown areas and then leveling existing buildings (many a historic value) to build new structures that are unappealing and out of character with the area.

Ellicott Development Co. (aka "2468 Group" or "9274 Group":   This company does alot of damage to historic neighborhoods in and around Syracuse, NY, for Rite Aid and Dunkin' Donuts.  In fact, they recently destroyed the 1850s italianate style home of John & Lucretia (Ward) Hastings, a descendant of Thomas Hastings the immigrant.  Aside from being a beautiful old home in the historic part of Syracuse, it was also believed to be a stop on the "underground railroad.  As the neighborhood was starting to rally to its defense, the developer proceeded to level the property as quickly as possible.

WalMart:  What can you say...they are determined to build their ubiquitously ugly, "big-box" retail stores in every community in America.  A main complaint against them is that any first-year architecture student could come up with a more subtle and appealing design...and there is some merit to the argument that they are harming traditional downtowns.  They also don't maintain their store grounds very well (in my experience) and the resulting trash tends to blight the commercial area they inhabit.

Kohl's Department Store:   They build big, ugly stores with little apparent regard for the natural topography of local communities.  In Sterling, VA, they destroyed a historic home site and leveled most of a well-timbered hill in order to build a store with a vastly over-sized parking lot. This calls into question local zoning but that is another issue entirely...

Home Builders Association of Virginia and the Virginia Association of Realtors:  These two groups, distinct in membership but similar in outlook, have joined forces to strip the citizens of Faquier County, VA, (a threatened area of the edge of the suburban Washington growth ring) of their ability to use local regulatory remedies to limit or channel development in their own county.  The associations have committed serious money in order to influence state legislators to disempower the people and their elected local officials.

Toll Brothers Development Company:   This PA based company is rapidly expanding throughout the U.S. and leaving their homogenous stamp on otherwise distinct regions of the country.  One complaint against them is that they show little or no regard for traditions and local historical associations when naming their up-scale but nonetheless cookie-cutter communities.   One example is their use of the term "Hunt" (a Southern - mostly Virginian designation) in the naming Massachusetts developments.  Their disregard for history has become an issue recently near Mannassas, VA.  Several hundred acres of farmland near the battlefield almost became "Disney America" until thousands of people, to include several prominent historians, rose up in unison to stop it about two years ago.  Now, the Toll Brothers have a different plan to pave the pastures that were once part of the greater Manassas/Bull Run Battlefield.

So what can we do about bad corporate citizens?  Well, effective tools are limited but the best way is to "vote with your feet."  Don't patronize these businesses, urge others to boycott them as well, and let the company know what you are doing and why you are doing it.

town_facades.gif (4422 bytes)

[Home]

HITSTATS By