Cooter's Preservation Alley--No Protection in Waltham--Fishkill Encampment Paved Over

Some preservation articles of interest,


1. It may bill itself as "The Cradle of the Industrial Revolution in America" but Waltham, Massachusetts, is coming up way short when it comes to protecting its historic houses.

For a town that hosts the popular "Historic Waltham Day Festival" every Saturday, there are no preservation laws on the books. It is one of the few Boston-area municipalities without them.

Several hundred homes were id'd by the Massachusetts Historical Commission twenty years ago as being worthy of preservation. Many have since met the wreckers ball.

In addition, few of the dozen town historic districts are marked.

One example is the circa 1825 home on Clark Street of Dr. James Jackson, co-founder of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.. Then it was owned by Francis Cabot Lowell II, and is now a multi-family residence with its exterior covered with gray tar shingles. Definitely an aold home in danger.

Dec. 9th, Boston.com "In Waltham, little protection for the old houses" by Stephan Clark.


2. Fishkill, NY-- The Fishkill Encampment and Supply Depot, where thousands of General Washington's troops were stationed to stop the British north of New York City is also the site of the Route 9 Corridor, marked by extremely heavy traffic and big-box stores.

The Rapolje House and Van der Voort Estate have recently been razed.

Only the Van Wyck Homestaed remains of the encampment and supply depot. which was larger and operated longer that the more famous Valley Forge. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Let's Save IT Before It's Gone for Good. --RoadDog