In earlier centuries . . .

[digitS']

. . . what did our communities look like?

I have had an interest in how things developed near where I live, long before I got here . Cities in this part of the world weren't here until fairly recently. Both of my grandfathers had been born before there were any incorporated communities within of hundreds of miles of my home. Cities here, first began to be laid out about 135 years ago.

One thing that I've learned is that, around here, public transportation was very important. We may have the notion that everyone had a horse and would drag ol' Dobbin out and hook her to the buggy every morning. Well, most folks just walked off down the road and got on the street car. It may have been pulled by ol' Dobbin or been moved by some other source of horsepower. Developers in Spokane neighborhoods built their street car systems before they began subdividing the land for homes.

I can get a fairly good idea looking at old maps and photographs of what things looked like. I think that's great! Well, what about before the late 19th century? How about communities pre-Industrial Revolution.

Walking, carrying and pushing stuff one place to another was important back then, of course. Lots of the necessities of life were a lot closer than they are now. One thing that was closer was food production .

Here's a little information on what a community looked like in 18th century England by a person who lives in the community, today:

What it looks like when food grows everywhere (click) The map that the people have come up with is a kick! There are vegetable gardens and fruit orchards literally everywhere! If you download the pdf file know - it's a big one!

I also had fun looking at the community using Google Streetview to see how things look in Guilford today. Not only are the little alleys pretty much gone but buildings fill nearly all the space once used for gardens & orchards. They won't be going back to that earlier landscape there in Guilford but it is fun seeing how things were done differently 250 years ago when food was just outside everyone's door .

Steve

 

[OldGuy43]

Thanks Steve, you've reminded me of my early childhood. I remember, when I was a very little boy visiting relatives in Saint Louis, waking up in the morning to the call of the street peddlers hawking their wares from wagons, push carts and even wheel barrows. Green grocers, fruit peddlers, melons, knife sharpeners, you name it and it could be had no further away than your front gate. The clang of the street car bell and the cop walking the beat, all gone in the name of progress.

 

[digitS']

It seems to me that we are presently moving to get back to "walkable" communities.

That shouldn't just have to do with a multiplication of small businesses, altho' that could be a positive. We already over-extended ourselves about 50 years ago by ridding our neighborhoods of the Mom & Pop groceries, thinking that the soopermarkets had taken their place. The 7-Elevens rushed right back into the neighborhoods about 10 years later.

I think that a step in the right direction would be to just turn the strip malls around! The parking lots can still be there along the busy arterials. The businesses could/should present a more welcoming storefront to the neighborhood. The store should take up a neighborhood presence and face into the community of nearby residences.

Anyway, our suburban communities with single family homes on 6 to 10,000 sqft lots offer space for food production if we want to use it for that purpose. I have been really delighted to walk thru neighborhoods that have fruit trees in the front yards.

Steve

 

[peteyfoozer]

As we live so many hours from grocery stores, or shopping, I do grocery shopping every 3 months. This isn't all that difficult as we have chickens and a milk cow, as well as multiple freezers and a big walk in fridge on the ranch. We also raise most of our own meat. People often ask me how I can manage, only going to the store 4 times a year.
I got to see an old receipt from this ranch 100 years ago. They got supplies ONCE a year. A horse drawn wagon took 2 weeks to go to Winnemucca to pick up supplies. It makes me feel kinda frivolous!

 

[digitS']

Can you tell us what was on their list, Petey?

Or, does it itemize?

Dad talks about stores where you told the grocer what you wanted and someone pulled your order from the back room and brought it out to the counter. I can still remember the 1st soopermarket I was in. The front door opened from the parking lot and ropes with flags overhead guided the shoppers to the door. (Otherwise, I suppose, we'd have gone around to the other side, looking for the entrance off the sidewalk along the street .)

Steve

 

[peteyfoozer]

I will have to go find it. Our boss' mom did a book on the ranch and she had pics of old receipts and such, selling things like a rifle for $3 a horse for $2...amazing. I know they bought flour and sugar, but I can't remember what else. I do know that some building was going on and a 40' roofing beam had to be custom ordered and brought by train. The owner sent the cowboys down to Winnemucca with a buckboard to pick it up. It wouldn't fit so they cut it in half! ROFL

 

[digitS']

I was just having to decide if the mailman could get meds to us soon enuf or if I'd need to make a drive to the pharmacy after the order goes in . . . .

There's no need to be in-and-out of this home everyday. Still, I think we could do soooo much better even where we live closely together. It is as tho' needs & necessities have been over-balanced by anti-social tendencies! Many treat the space around American homes as little more than insulation so that they can avoid noticing whatever their neighbors are up to :/.

If the average single-family home is 2,000 sqft and it sits on 8,000 sqft, seems like there's a couple thousand square feet one could do something with. Something that has to do with life and seasons .

The alternative for many of us is to have dreams of even more insulating space around us. Left with nothing else, that doesn't even seem to be a very healthy way of thinking.

Steve

 

[OldGuy43]

Did you know that the average size American home has more than doubled since 1950?

 

[digitS']

I did know about the McMansion trend, OE! Darn shame, too.

The actual numbers are interesting to see. Since the average has more square feet that I'd stated, I decided to see if these new homes are taking up a larger percentage of their lot space. No . . . I got that really, really wrong. Characteristics of New Housing, In 2010 (census.gov) :

"The average new single-family home sold was built on a lot of 17,590 square feet. The average lot size for new homes sold inside metropolitan areas was 16,585 square feet. Outside metropolitan areas, it was 27,363 square feet."

Good Gravy! I thought I had LOTS of garden space to make use of! Even with a new home of average size sitting on the ground -- there's more square feet on these outside metro area homesites than in all my gardens combined!

Steve