April Fool Am I

[PFMcFarland]

The weather wasn’t want I expected, and Mother Nature kept messing with the clouds as I tried to get plenty of morning light to heighten the contrast.

Subject of the day was the changes going on at the Greenfield Center in Botetourt County, VA, an industrial park / recreational area owned by the county on land that used to be part of the Preston Plantation that was founded in the 1750’s.

I don’t like seeing all the new construction, as it was a really nice place to get some long views of the area, but then the county needs to make a return on their investment, and I’ve always known the day would come when that would come to fruition.

Folks got all upset when the old slave quarters were moved out of the way to make room for a shell building being put up by the county on speculation, mostly for the underhanded way it was being done, but also because it harms the historical value of the structures because they are no longer in their original context.

So besides the spec building, Eldor Corp is erecting a new factory to make auto parts, and Ballast Point Brewery is moving in to a building vacated by another parts manufacturer. It won’t be as fancy as their west coast operations, but there will be a tasting room.

Voigtlander/Cosina Bessa-R2S, SC Skopar 1:2.5 35mm, Fuji Neopan Acros 100

One of the old buildings from the plantation that is not part of the Greenfield Center.

Old Plantation Building by P F McFarland, on Flickr


An educational bee keeping plot not far from the Cherry Blossom Trail.

Bee Keeping 1 by P F McFarland, on Flickr


The cloud that would not go away.

Nemesis by P F McFarland, on Flickr


New construction on an older building.

Ballast Point Brewery by P F McFarland, on Flickr


Shell building.

Greenfield Center Spec Building by P F McFarland, on Flickr


A piece of construction equipment sitting idle.

It's A Mover by P F McFarland, on Flickr


A view from outside of the industrial zone.

Gravel Hill View by P F McFarland, on Flickr


See all the photos at https://flic.kr/s/aHskT5nH1w

PF

[Julio1fer]

Excellent photo story on the changes. I can understand the folks getting mad. Hope it is all for the better, especially that coming tasting room.

[GrahamS]

At least you can be sure that they won't come across any Roman ruins when they start digging....

[jamesmck]

Nice, Phil. I take it that you are enjoying the R2S.

[PFMcFarland]

Julio: It's only been in the last decade or so that folks have begun to care about that sort of history. The county bought the property a long time ago, did nothing with the original buildings, let the plantation house burn down in 1959, and were using the slave quarters for storage buildings. Then after twenty years of the site plan just sitting there, they all of a sudden announced the bulldozers would be rolling the next week. That's what got the folks all up in arms about it. There was no plan to save the slave quarters, but with all the protests and charges they were trying to wipe out the history of slavery, the county was forced to come up with creating an educational display by moving the structures to a spot out of the way of any new construction. People still weren't happy about that, but it was better than the alternative.

The tasting room won't do me any good, I quit drinking back in 85".

Graham: Hey, you never know where they might show up.

James: I certainly am. I'm hoping to get a 21mm lens for it soon.

PF

[Brazile]

I agree with Julio, it's a story, told well. Sorry your county government is so insular; it seem very easy for local government to become so because people aren't as involved with it as they should be. Photo essays like this one can help with that.

Robert

[PFMcFarland]

Thanks, Robert.

PF