Update: The house was destroyed sometime in the first half of 2019.
I drove back by Pleasantview Road to check on the status of the buildings I have been documenting for the last year.
The abandoned farmstead has weathered the winter, and looks largely the same. I know someday I will drive by, only to see a pile of rubble, or less.
The school building hasn’t changed either, though the weeds are starting to grow up around the façade again.
Update: The barn above was hit by a tornado or strong winds but has not been torn down.
It makes me sick, but sprawl is coming to Washington, since you know, it’s quaint and all and only a ten minute drive into Peoria. Note the brand new street in front of this barn; on the other side of the street is a subdivision of tract attached homes.
Across the cornfield, another subdivision is going up. Why are giving up our sustainability for sprawl? We no longer produce enough food to support our population, and the roads needed to go to all of these spread-out houses aren’t paid for by the taxes generated by these houses. A crisis is developing, but almost no one cares.
Boy, do I understand that. (Thanks, btw, for your blog. Grew up in St. Louis county)I live in Bakersfield, California, and I have spent countless hours studying zoning laws and the effect leap frog urban sprawl has on ag land and on infrastructure (or in our case here, LACK of infrastructure.) Our roads and our air quality and our farmland are suffering. And our city fathers and mothers just don't seem to care. Their bottom line is always the almighty (tax) dollar. So tragic.
I loved seeing all these pictures. I have not been home in years. I rarely even leave the city of Saint Louis since work and home are contained here. Last time I was home I noticed all the sprawl and nasty new houses in Washington and assumed it was people like my parents fleeing from the big scary city of Peoria.