It's just cultural learning. Just like a child learns that touching the stove isn't such a great idea, America has learned that genocide, strip mining, slavery, clear cutting, and eliminating the middle class are bad things (well maybe not that last one yet...).
But what happens when a child forgets that lesson about the stove? They get burned again. When we throw away the notes for a class, we tend to bomb the test.
Eliminating funding for historical preservation, including sites designed to bring alive a piece of our collective story, is like throwing away the notes. It's all well and good if we've learned the lesson, or perhaps the lesson wasn't of too much value (let's be honest, not EVERY old building or farm needs to be preserved for posterity).
So when I see things like this...
It makes me sad. And curious. How much money can it take to actually keep this place open to the public? There were people at work--staff was still being paid or volunteered to be there when I stopped by on a warm September afternoon.
Anyone who's read "1984" is familiar with the Ministry of Truth...which essentially gets to define what's real, both now and in the past. When the people are not able to a handle on what happened--either through neglect, or designed--then we end up in a situation where the facts can change. This alters, or eliminates, the lessons learned.
That's a very long way of saying I'm disappointed that money is getting in the way of history, even in a dedicated historical preserve.
Some other photos I was able to get around the perimeter...
After this, I went and tracked down what I think is the old canal route--but that's another post for another time. Till then, keep looking around--you never know when it'll be more convenient to pave the past and put up a parking lot.
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