Below are
descriptions of the first group of threatened places on which we
have had the opportunity to focus.
The Griswold Airport - Madison
The Griswold Airport was built
within the wetland salt marshes that are now part of the
Hammonasset State Park and its nature preserve in Madison. The
airport area has added significance as a Native American
archeological site. This property is now endangered by an ill
conceived high density real estate project. The pollution
created by this development threatens severe damage to the
ecology of the salt marshes which abound with wonderfully
diverse plant, fish, mammal, and bird species. In addition, this
development will further degrade the Hammonasset River estuary
and Long Island Sound. We are doing our best to support and
bring attention to the organization SGOD (Stop Griswold
OverDevelopment) which has been active since 2000 in trying to
protect this important environmental, historical, and
archeological landmark. Visit
http://www.sgod.org/ for more information.
The William
Wadsworth House – Durham This 1848 Greek Revival house has many unique qualities
regarding its architecture, location, and most importantly the
dire fragility of its situation. The Wadsworth house is
dramatically positioned just outside Durham’s historic district
on a hill overlooking the beautifully open land of the
Coginchaug River Valley and Pistapaug Mountains beyond.
Although there are many intact Greek Revival houses in the
Durham - Guilford area, this house does not the common mold. The
corner pilasters and massive horizontal entablature extending
below the eaves give this building a particularly noble balance
and symmetry. Facing westward, the sunsets’ amber colors are
beautifully reflected along with images of tree limbs in the
wave like panes of the windows’ original leaded glass. But
beyond this, the Wadsworth House has been empty and
deteriorating for many years. Parts of it are open to the
elements and on top of that it resides alone on a large parcel
of land that is commercially zoned.
According to the
Connecticut State Historical Commission it “… is significant as
a superb example of the Greek Revival style and, historically
notable for its association with the Wadsworth family and its
role in the development of Durham.”
With the past few
weeks of this writing, two of those wonderful windows were
broken.
The Family Farm
in Connecticut The aesthetic charm of Connecticut’s family farms is linked
to their endangered position. They are not large commercial
entities and the pressure of real estate development moves in
lockstep with the state’s growing population density.
Ironically, although polluted open land and waterways can and
have been reclaimed, once farmland is turned into housing
project, it is the sad end of the story.
In the future, we at
Preservationz will be bringing attention and support to
particular farms that need immediate help to continue their
existence.
In the larger sense,
the family farm’s integration of cultural heritage and nurture
of the environment make it an institution deserving of
government protection and even subsidy in the same manor as
state parks and forests and museums.
If
you have a property or know of a property that is in need of help, please call Kim at 203-536-2420 or email us at
