Save Boonville
Still camping, have not showered since I was in Dallas on Monday, cut my finger chopping wood, had to find a cheap clinic to get a tetanus shot, and I've been kept awake by loud kids and bonfires for the last three days. But on to the important part...
2002 aerial photo of old Boonville property with original survey markings laid over top (click for larger view).
This morning I went to a talk at the local Heritage Center. Mr. Henry Mayo gave a presentation on the property where the former Town of Boonville sits, and its historical relevance. The majority of the "old Boonville" property has already been optioned by a firm to put in a commercial center -- adding a Best Western, as well as other businesses. Mr. Mayo is trying to get the city to purchase a piece of land to add a small park in the old town square. He is not even trying to deter this "progress" from happening. He just wants a small park. But nobody seems to be listening.
Boonville was officially registered as a town in 1844, but was first settled in the 1830s or so. It became extinct in 1866, but there were probably people still living there and calling it Boonville until the early 1900s. Old Boonville was the FIRST town and the FIRST County Seat of Brazos County. It is rich with history, and it has never even been the subject of a proper archaeological dig. And as we speak, bulldozers under contract from the commercial firm are further destroying its history. Granted, they are most likely just simple artifacts, but isn't that important? Or are they just artifacts? Isn't it also a statement on our current values in a largely quick-and-easy and corporate society? I don't know who's misstep it was, but shame on them (the City of Bryan, Texas?) for never making old Boonville something more then a future shopping center.
This project has never really been about the history of the towns. But that doesn't mean I am not invested in it. I've researched each towns origins and history for years, and I continue to do so when I arrive into each new community. TX is no different, except maybe that I am a bit more interested, seeing that it's all that's left.
Today I met some wonderful people that are very interested and passionate about old Boonville. It is amazing how many people don't even know about the former town. And as one person put it to me today, "Most people think the Boonville Cemetery is named for Boonville Road." If Mr. Mayo and the dedicated "old Boonvillians" of Bryan, TX do not succeed, then will people in 50 years think the Cemetery was named for the "Boonville Town Center," the name of the new Best Western commercial property?
Seriously, if we don't even preserve our beginnings, then what should we preserve?
2002 aerial photo of old Boonville property with original survey markings laid over top (click for larger view).
This morning I went to a talk at the local Heritage Center. Mr. Henry Mayo gave a presentation on the property where the former Town of Boonville sits, and its historical relevance. The majority of the "old Boonville" property has already been optioned by a firm to put in a commercial center -- adding a Best Western, as well as other businesses. Mr. Mayo is trying to get the city to purchase a piece of land to add a small park in the old town square. He is not even trying to deter this "progress" from happening. He just wants a small park. But nobody seems to be listening.
Boonville was officially registered as a town in 1844, but was first settled in the 1830s or so. It became extinct in 1866, but there were probably people still living there and calling it Boonville until the early 1900s. Old Boonville was the FIRST town and the FIRST County Seat of Brazos County. It is rich with history, and it has never even been the subject of a proper archaeological dig. And as we speak, bulldozers under contract from the commercial firm are further destroying its history. Granted, they are most likely just simple artifacts, but isn't that important? Or are they just artifacts? Isn't it also a statement on our current values in a largely quick-and-easy and corporate society? I don't know who's misstep it was, but shame on them (the City of Bryan, Texas?) for never making old Boonville something more then a future shopping center.
This project has never really been about the history of the towns. But that doesn't mean I am not invested in it. I've researched each towns origins and history for years, and I continue to do so when I arrive into each new community. TX is no different, except maybe that I am a bit more interested, seeing that it's all that's left.
Today I met some wonderful people that are very interested and passionate about old Boonville. It is amazing how many people don't even know about the former town. And as one person put it to me today, "Most people think the Boonville Cemetery is named for Boonville Road." If Mr. Mayo and the dedicated "old Boonvillians" of Bryan, TX do not succeed, then will people in 50 years think the Cemetery was named for the "Boonville Town Center," the name of the new Best Western commercial property?
Seriously, if we don't even preserve our beginnings, then what should we preserve?
Labels: texas2
posted by Timothy Briner at
5:37 PM
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