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Preserving Canton
By Bob Davidson, Canton
Too Many Historic Buildings
It is ironic that the C.A.R.E. organization is responsible for our losing the Lane homestead. If the original Konover development plan had been approved, the home would have been saved. Whatever the claimed motives of the C.A.R.E. group, preservation of this historic home was obviously not their highest priority.
This loss is not troubling to most residents because they have enough sense to recognize and acknowledge two facts: (1) we have historic farmhouses all over the place–not only in Canton, but in Connecticut, New England, and all over the country; and (2) Route 44 is a commercial highway primarily available for commercial development and is not any part of the town's "rural charm."
One additional fact that we should all recognize is that Canton is now spending our tax dollars paying town attorneys to defend the town for its attempt to prevent Konover from implementing its development plan. So, our taxes are being spent to prevent us from increasing tax revenues. Make sense?
Historians should relax. Many new homes are being built every day. Patience–in 150 or 100 years, we will be overstocked with "historic" homes. Those who see themselves as the saviors of the rural charm of Route 44 should accept the fact that they were born 100 years too late. In another 150 years, all those Cantonites living in all those new historic homes will find shopping in the Route 44 mall most convenient.
The only way this won't happen is if the C.A.R.E. obstructionists can sell Canton on the idea that they are preservationists. There are some real preservationists in town. They are fighting to preserve a good educational system, well-maintained roads and reasonable taxes–they really care about our future and approach it with reasoned common sense.
Collinsville Green Area
The grassy plot next to 7 South Street (bordering on the church parking lot) has been sold. The new owner has apparently requested it be zoned for commercial use. An office building with 16 parking spaces is proposed.
The "Green" residents say they are very concerned about this proposed use of the property. They should be, and the Historic Commission should be even more concerned. The entire Green area is historically preserved as it was when the area was first developed.
To determine how best to restore this grassy plot in an appropriate and historically correct usage, I consulted with some of our senior citizens. They shared with me how this site was used during the glory days of the Collins Company and the "Green." The following is a list of how it was used and how it might now be restored to redeem its historic integrity: an automobile dealership; a low-income tenement house; a shoemaker's shop; an undertaker’s parlor; automobile storage sheds.
Obviously, this is historically a commercial site. Perhaps one or more of the above historically correct businesses could again be located on this site. But an office building–never. Now is the time for the Historic Commission to back a plan to restore the property to reflect the period when the neighborhood was thriving–when every village had its own junkyard.
Option B might be for those who oppose this historic reclamation to buy the property and grow grass.
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