Tim Barnwell is a photographer based in Asheville, N.C. His work has appeared in publications including Time, Newsweek, Black & White magazine, House Beautiful and Outdoor Photographer. He is the author of two books, “The Face of Appalachia” and the newly released (April 2007), “On Earth’s Furrowed Brow.”
A landscape transformed. Over the past 25 years, as I have traveled the back roads of the Blue Ridge mountains, I have seen the landscape transformed. The most noticeable change is in the density and type of housing that you find today. The family farmsteads of years ago, with a main house, barn and outbuildings set on 30 or more acres, are being replaced by tract housing developments with a half dozen houses per acre. Surrounding hillsides are dotted with homes, many occupied only six or eight weeks out of the year.
The impact. Increasing population pressures drive this type of development, which leads to increases in property prices and tax valuations. Many folks now find that they have been priced out of their own home real estate market. Farmers can no longer afford to buy new land for crop production or grazing cattle, and the tax value on what they already own creates a burden that many cannot overcome. When their children inherit these properties and weigh the expense of maintaining them with the potential sale value, many decide to sell. As the last of the generations born on the mountain farm in the early 1900s pass away, so does much of their culture and lifestyle.
Seeking the unique. As a photographer and traveler, I don’t travel to see the same thing I have in my town. I want to explore an area and discover what makes it different. I am on the lookout for beautiful pastoral scenes, weathered barns, country stores and people at work on their farms. The interstates bypass small towns and most exits have the same collection of chain restaurants, quick shops and hotels you now see everywhere in America. I would rather follow the two-lane roads that wind through the countryside into the heart of the old downtowns, where I can find unique shops, storefronts and historic sites.
Architecture transformed. In the surrounding rural areas, I find that interesting architecture ceased with prefabrication and the advent of the metal building. While more cost-effective to build, these newer churches and stores are devoid of flourish or detail, lack character and will not age as gracefully as their counterparts of the past. In town, the most unique areas are not what is new, but old – the original downtown buildings. For me the most successful combination is achieved when developers convert these older buildings into new businesses and housing, leaving the original, beautiful exterior facades intact. Waynesville, N.C. and Abingdon, Va. are examples of communities that have accomplished that combination.
Preserve place and heritage. My hope is that community members will work together to identify and preserve what makes theirs special and to control development in historic areas of town. There will be little incentive for visitors or new residents to come if the things that make an area interesting and unique are lost. Cities and counties need to work to anticipate and circumvent problems by enacting ordinances and policies put in place by communities which have already faced a boom in development. Everyone can benefit from lessons learned, by planning rather than reacting. I think preserving some of the past is great way to ensure a solid future.
