Lovely picture of the mill from Rosalind S. on Foursquare.
The developer proposes three two and three-story office buildings on a bluff looking over Chamberlain Lane, a once bucolic farm road, barely two lanes wide, that has been overwhelmed by the traffic and congestion caused by an enormous “planned community” called North Commons, named for a local family long known for their philanthropy. Chamberlain runs along the edge of Wolf Pen Farm.
When the Nortons owned this land, it was a dairy farm, used as the setting for their beloved Saturday morning radio program on farming. There are no farms there now; it is all subdivisions and now the creeping enormity of the “Commons”—what an irony to call it by a name with historic resonance. The only Commons here is a small open space at the center of hundreds of houses.
The developers promised me before they dug the first foundation that they were going to leave a green belt, a percentage of the total acres that would remain open. The promise is fulfilled, in their eyes, by a narrow band along the road.
Another irony is that these brand-new houses are copied from an old downtown neighborhood. The only element they share is that the houses are jammed close together in an attempt to bypass the chemical- poisoned lawns of conventional subdivisions.
If these office buildings are constructed, the threat to Wolf Pen Mill will come when Wolf Pen Creek is flooded with toxic overflow from these buildings and their parking lots. The mill stands on a thin granite shelf above the waterfall; increased flow could undercut this shelf and cause the mill to collapse.
Built in the mid-Nineteenth Century and once a gathering place for farmers bringing their wagonloads of corn to be ground between the millstones turned by the water-powered wheel, the mill serves as a reminder that there is history in these parts, as there is history everywhere, and ignoring that brings its own particular psychic damage.
As we finally—at long, long last—begin to study the historic injustices of the past, we must also consider the destruction of the land, resulting from ignorance, avarice, and the greed of developers which can never be satisfied.
And climate disruption, with all those air-conditioners and furnaces and gas-run cars? Not a concern. I imagine careful women turning off house lights here and there in the vain hope that the savings in electricity will somehow offset the damage.
Another looming calamity: as nearby farms, some with hundreds of acres, come into the hands of wives when they are widowed, the question of putting them into conservation easements to prevent development doesn’t even seem to be a topic of discussion. Well-heeled heirs assert their individual claims, estate lawyers cleave to ancient tradition, and the climate will be further disrupted by furious building.
Wake up, you well-off widows! We are all part of a world that is threatened by our individual decisions. Indeed there really are no individual decisions now that each and every one of them impacts our shared future.
Well said. We are facing the same type of zoning and development threats in Shelby County. We placed a conservation easement on our farm, but there are many others that are facing spot development approved by the board despite not complying with the regs or the Comprehensive Plan.
And imagine how the indigenous people feel ( felt) as their land became “owned” and developed by others .
This new plan compounds the injustices.
To find the REAL problem — which companies do these wealthy old women live off the dividends of, and how Socially Responsible are they??? My relative Thomas S. Kenan III of Chapel Hill, NC gave $2,500.00 to the NJ Justice fund — but gave TONS MORE to re-elect Donald Trump and to support the Jan. 6 Christian Insurrection of the Capitol!!! He and his close relatives are all DEVOUT EPISCOPALIANS — LOL!!!
You are right to worry about how the increased water flow will damage the mill. A friend who had a gorgeous rock train bridge arching over a steam on her property lost some of the stones at the base within a year of a new neighboring subdivision causing increased runoff into the stream. The force of the water tore the stones—mortar and all—loose in one section. This bridges was in great shape at 150 years old until the development changed the landscape. I’ve always loved being at Hopscotch House to write and hope you win against the nearby developers!
I grew up on South Chamberlain Lane when the area was mostly potato farms and Wolf Pen Branch Rd, where I rode my bike, was so beautiful and the mill was special. I have a photo of teenage me at the mill. I do hope that there are still some people out there who care about the environment and treasure the beauty that is left. I was able to document the area history in my book “Worthington and Springdale” (Arcadia Images of America series) and doing the research and collecting family photographs from the early families was a wonderful experience. Thank you for your stewardship of Wolf Pen Mill.
Carol Brenner Tobe
My farm, Stonelea which is down and up the hill by Sleepy hollow Lake is conserved! I . I urge anyone widowed or not to place an easement on his or her land. I recommend the Bluegrass Land Conservancy or the Louisville Jefferson county Land Trust as Easement holders. Easements can be tailored in many different ways and guarantees that we have land for growing food and acting as corridors and habitat for the flora and fauna we share the land with!