Tho

mas

Will

iam

son

Anecdotes of Painting in England.

Rep

rint.

New

Yor

k: G

arla

nd P

ublis

hing

,19

82.

Wila

ms,

Rob

ert.

1987. "R

ural

Eco

nom

y an

d th

e A

ntiq

ue in

the

Eng

lsh

Lan

d-sc

ape

Gar

den.

Journal of Garden History

7, n

o. 1

:73-

96.

Wila

mso

n, Tom, and Liz Bellamy. 1987.

Property and Landscape.

Lon

don:

George Philp.

Wils

, Pet

er. 1

977.

C

harle

s B

ridge

man

and

the

Eng

lish

Land

cape

Gar

den.

Lon

don:

Zw

emm

er.

,--:

in Steven Lubar and W, Davi d

Ki n

gery

, eds

.,HiStory from Tbings

Essays on Material

Cul

ture

(Washington, D,C, Smithsonian

Institution Press, 1993)

Com

mon

Lan

dsca

pes

asH

isto

ric

Doc

umen

ts

Pei

rce

Lew

is

angile objects form a challengig and stub-

born

kin

d of

his

toric

rec

ord.

The

y ch

al-

lenge us because they are there-and be-

caus

e w

e kn

ow, a

s an

art

icle

of

faith

, tha

t tho

seobjects have meaning, if we are only cl

ever

enou

gh to

dec

iphe

r it.

The

y ar

e st

ubbo

rn b

e-ca

use

they

sim

ply

refu

se to

go

away

, by

thei

rve

ry p

rese

nce

dem

andi

g to

be

inte

rpre

ted.

To

hum

an g

eogr

aphe

rs n

o fo

rm o

f m

ater

ial a

rtac

tis

mor

e st

ubbo

rn, m

ore

tant

aliz

ing,

or

pote

n-tia

lly m

ore

ilum

inat

ing

than

the

vast

dis

or-

derl

y co

llect

ion

of h

uman

art

ifac

ts th

at c

onst

i-tu

te th

e cu

ltura

l lan

dsca

pe.

The

idea

is s

impl

e to

def

ine

but d

aunt

ing

inth

e en

orm

ty o

f its

sco

pe. B

y cu

ltura

l lan

dsca

pege

ogra

pher

s m

ean

the

tota

l ass

embl

age

of v

isib

leth

igs

that

hum

an b

eing

s ha

ve d

one

to a

lter

the

face

of t

he e

arth

-their shapings of the earth

116

Pei

rce

Lew

is

with

mie

s an

d qu

arri

es a

nd d

ams

and

jetti

es; t

he u

biqu

itous

pur

pose

ful

man

ipul

atio

n of

the

eart

h's

vege

tativ

e co

ver

in fa

rms,

fore

sts,

law

ns,

park

s, a

nd g

arde

ns; t

he th

ings

hum

ans

build

on

the

eart

h, c

ities

and

tow

ns, h

ouse

s an

d ba

rns,

fac

tori

es a

nd o

ffic

e bu

ildin

gs; t

he sp

aces

we

crea

te f

or w

orsh

ip a

nd f

or p

lay.

Cul

tura

l lan

dsca

pe in

clud

es th

e ro

ads

and

mac

hine

s w

e bu

ild to

tran

spor

t obj

ects

and

idea

s, th

e fe

nces

and

wal

ls

we

erec

t to

subd

ivid

e la

nd in

to m

anag

eabl

e un

its a

nd s

epar

ate

port

ions

of

the

eart

h fr

om o

ne a

noth

er, t

he m

onum

ents

we

build

to c

eleb

rate

our

-

selv

es, o

ur in

stitu

tions

, our

her

oes,

and

our

ancestors. Cultural land-

scape, in short, i

s ev

eryt

hing

that

hum

ans

do to

the

natu

ral e

arth

for

wha

teve

r pu

rpos

e bu

t mos

t com

mon

ly f

or m

ater

ial p

rofi

t, ae

sthe

tic p

lea-

sure

, spi

ritu

al fullment, personal comfort

, or

com

mun

al s

afet

y.

Hum

an la

ndsc

apes

dif

fer

in a

ppea

ranc

e fr

om p

lace

to p

lace

for

the

self-evident reason that all cultures ha

ve c

erta

in c

olle

ctiv

e am

bitio

ns

abou

t the

way

the

wor

ld s

houl

d op

erat

e an

d be

caus

e th

ey p

osse

ss p

ecul

iar

mea

ns o

f ac

hiev

ing

thos

e go

als

of p

rofi

t, pl

easu

re, a

nd s

afet

y. S

impl

y

beca

use

cultu

res

are

pecu

liar,

thei

r la

ndsc

apes

are

pec

ular

too.

And

, of

cour

se, b

ecau

se c

ultu

res

chan

ge th

roug

h tim

e, th

eir

land

scap

es a

lso

chan

ge. T

hose

land

scap

es b

ecom

e in

eff

ect a

kin

d of

doc

umen

t, a kid of

cultu

ral a

utob

iogr

aphy

that

hum

ans

have

car

ved

and

cont

inue

to c

arve

into

the

surf

ace

of th

e ea

rth.

It f

ollo

ws,

nec

essa

rily

, tha

t if

land

scap

e is

a d

ocum

ent, w

e ou

ght t

o be

able

to r

ead

it in

a m

anne

r an

alog

ous

to th

e w

ay w

e re

ad w

ritte

n do

cu-

men

ts. W

e ar

e dr

iven

to tr

y to

read the language of landscape partly

beca

use

it is

the

prim

ary

evid

ence

cre

ated

by

peop

le w

ho o

ften

left

behi

nd

no w

rtte

n re

cord

s of

thei

r da

y-to

-day

act

iviti

es a

nd p

artly

bec

ause

ther

e

is s

O m

uch

of it

that

the

valid

ity o

f its

mes

sage

s ca

n be

test

ed b

y th

at m

ost

powerful of tests-in

tern

al c

onsi

sten

cy. I

t doe

s no

t fol

low

, how

ever

, tha

t

cultu

ral l

ands

cape

is a

n ea

sy d

ocum

ent t

o re

ad, n

or d

oes

it fo

llow

that

it is

com

plet

e. It

was

, afte

r al

l, no

t mea

nt to

be

read

, nor

are

people accus-

tom

ed to

rea

ding

it. L

arge

par

ts o

f th

e do

cum

ent a

re missing (especialy

the

olde

r pa

rts)

, and

our

contemporaries are constantly messing with

what remains-alterig it,

era

sing

it, r

edes

igng

it. C

ultu

ral l

ands

cape

has

man

y of

the

qual

ities

of

a giantic palimpsest, a huge ragged informal

docu

men

t wri

tten

by a

hos

t of

peop

le w

ith v

ario

us le

vels

of

liter

acy,

rep

eat-

edly

era

sed

and

amen

ded

by p

eopl

e w

ith d

ifer

ent m

otiv

es a

nd d

iffe

rent

tool

s at

thei

r di

spos

al. R

arel

y, h

owev

er, did the creators of landscape

think of themselves as writing a document, nor did they su

spec

t tha

t

anyone would try to read it.

Thi

s qu

ality

of artlessness is, to a large

, ,

Com

mon

Lan

dsca

pes

as H

isto

ric D

ocum

ents

117

degr

ee, w

hat m

akes

cul

tura

l lan

dsca

pe s

uch

a ri

ch d

ocum

ent b

ut a

lso

such

a va

luab

le o

ne.

But

how

can

one

lear

n to

rea

d cu

ltura

l lan

dsca

pe?

Wha

t can

one

expect to learn from the exercise? A

nd h

ow c

an o

ne te

st th

e va

lidity

of

idea

s ba

sed

oev

iden

ce f

rom

that

land

scap

e?

LEARNING BY DOING: READING THE

LAN

DS

CA

PE

OF

A

SMA

LL

TO

WN

I ha

ve b

een

wre

stlin

g w

ith th

ese

prob

lem

s fo

r m

ore

than

twen

ty y

ears

.Every year at Pennsylvania State University I teach an introductory

cour

se o

n th

e A

mer

ican

cul

tura

l lan

dsca

pe to

a h

undr

ed o

r sO

und

ergr

adu-

ate

stud

ents

, non

e of

them

tuto

red

in th

ese

mat

ters

.2 T

he s

tude

nts

com

e

from

all

over

cam

pus-

from

arc

hite

ctur

e an

d la

ndsc

ape

arch

itect

ure,

mat

hem

atic

s an

d hi

stor

y, e

lect

rica

l eng

inee

rig

and dairy husbandry;

they

are

, in

effe

ct, a

ran

dom

gra

b fr

om th

e po

pula

tion

of a

ver

y la

rge

publ

ic u

nive

rsity

. It h

as n

ot o

ccur

red

to m

any

of th

ose

stud

ents

that

land

scap

e is

som

ethi

g ot

her

than

a d

isor

derl

y as

sem

blag

e of

mis

cella

-

neou

s ob

ject

s. .T

o m

ost o

f the

m la

ndsc

ape

is m

erel

y so

met

hig

to c

ast t

heir

eyes

acr

oss-

som

etim

es in

app

rova

l, sometimes in disgust-bu

t mos

t of-

ten to take for granted, except w

hen

part

icul

ar it

ems

in th

e la

ndsc

ape

impinge on ordiary day-

to-day lie-the lo

catio

n of

dor

mto

ries

and

clas

sroo

ms

and di

g ha

lls, t

he p

atte

rn o

f st

reet

s an

d pa

ths

that

lead

mos

t eff

icie

ntly

to a

fav

orite

boo

ksto

re o

r di

sco

or p

izza

join

t or

rom

antic

liais

on. E

xcep

t und

er u

nusu

al c

ircu

mst

ance

s m

ost s

tude

nts

view

ord

inar

yla

ndsc

ape

sim

ply

as a

tim

e-co

nsum

ig o

bsta

cle

that

lies

betw

een

whe

re

they

are

and

whe

re th

ey w

ant t

o be

, to

be c

ross

ed a

s qu

ickl

y as

poss

ible

but o

ther

wse

igno

red.

It a

lmos

t nev

er o

ccur

s to

thos

e st

uden

ts-a

s al

mos

t nev

er o

ccur

s to

mos

t Am

eric

ans-

to lo

ok a

t tha

t lan

dsca

pe q

ues-

tioni

ngly

, to

inqu

ire

how

it c

ame

to b

e, to

ask

wha

t it h

as to

tell

us a

bout

the

folk

who

mad

e it:

our

selv

es a

nd o

ur c

ultu

ral a

nces

tors

.M

y jo

b w

ith th

ose

stud

ents

is simple to state but not so easy to

exec

ute:

to p

ersu

ade

them

that

land

scap

e ca

n be

rea

d an

d th

at th

e en

ter-

pris

e is

wor

th u

nder

taki

ng. M

ost s

tude

nts

are

skep

tical

of

both

pro

posi

-tio

ns. T

hey

do n

ot b

elie

ve th

at la

ndsc

ape

can

be r

ead,

par

tly b

ecau

se it

has

neve

r oc

curr

ed to

them

but

, mor

e im

port

ant,

beca

use

they

hav

e ne

ver

seen

any

body

do

it. I

t has

nev

er o

ccur

red

to th

em th

at th

e hu

man

land

-

Pei

rce

Lew

is

scap

e ca

n be

vie

wed

as

a fo

rm o

f cu

ltura

l aut

obio

grap

hy-a

source of

idea

s an

d in

form

atio

n ab

out t

hem

selv

es a

nd th

eir society that is often

hard to obtain in other ways.

Ove

r a

good

man

y ye

ars

of te

achi

ng th

e co

urse

I h

ave

disc

over

ed o

nly

one

effe

ctiv

e m

eans

of

pers

uadi

ng th

em, a

nd th

at is

to ta

ke th

em p

hysi

-ca

lly in

to th

at la

ndsc

ape

and show them durig the course of a one-da

yfi

eld

trip

wha

t a f

inite

bit

of th

at w

orld

has

to te

ach

them

. Bef

ore

we

sally

fort

h, I

ask

them

to a

rm th

emse

lves

with

a b

it' o

f vo

cabu

lary

, hav

ing

mai

nly

to d

o w

ith th

e hi

stor

y of

Am

eric

an a

rchi

tect

ure

and buildig tech-

nolo

gy, a

nd th

en f

ollo

w m

e ar

ound

for

a d

ay w

hile

we

join

tly a

sk q

uest

ions

abou

t wha

t we

see,

tryi

ng to

get

som

e re

ason

able

ans

wer

s an

d tr

ying

,in

sofa

r as

we

can,

to te

st th

ose

answ

ers

to s

ee if

they

are

val

id.

The

pla

ce w

e go

to tr

yout

thes

e id

eas

is a

sm

all t

own

abou

t a d

ozen

mie

s fr

om m

y un

iver

sity

cam

pus,

a p

lace

cal

led

Bel

lefo

nte,

Pen

nsyl

vani

a.It

s po

pula

tion

is n

ot q

uite

ten

thou

sand

, SO it is small en

ough

that

the

mid

can

get

aro

und

it an

d th

e ey

e ca

n gr

asp

it as

a w

hole

. But

it is

complex enough to be challengig and ol

d en

ough

(it

was

fou

nded

abo

uttw

o hu

ndre

d ye

ars

ago)

to c

onta

in a

goo

d de

al o

f hi

stor

ical

div

ersi

ty. L

ike

man

y sm

all t

owns

, it d

oes

a fa

ir v

arie

ty o

f th

ings

. It i

s th

e co

unty

sea

t of

Cen

tre

Cou

nty,

and

it h

as b

een

an e

cono

mic

and

soc

ial h

ub fo

r a

good

-si

zed

and

fair

ly p

rosp

erou

s fa

rmin

g di

stri

ct. F

rom

tim

e to

tim

e it

has

had

its s

hare

of m

anuf

actu

ring,

chi

efly

a li

vely

iron

indu

stry

that

flou

rishe

dfo

r m

uch

of th

e ni

etee

nth

cent

ury.

In

sum

, it i

s fa

irly

typi

cal o

f m

any

sem

iano

nym

ous

smal

Am

eric

an to

wns

.T

his

essa

y is

a v

icar

ious

trip

to B

elle

font

e an

d is

aim

ed to

dem

on-

stra

te a

few

thin

gs th

at a

com

mon

Am

eric

an la

ndsc

ape

can

reve

al. T

here

is s

ome

risk

in tr

yg to

do

this

. To

cond

ense

into

a s

hort

pri

nted

ess

ayw

hat t

akes

abo

ut e

ight

hou

rs o

f co

nsta

nt lookig and talkg and th

ikig

to s

how

the

stud

ents

obv

ious

ly r

uns

som

e ri

sk o

f ca

rica

ture

. And

a f

ewbl

ack-

and-

whi

te il

ustr

atio

ns c

anno

t rea

lly d

o ju

stic

e to

the

mul

ticol

ored

thre

e-di

men

sion

al v

arie

ty a

nd c

ompl

exity

of

the

real

land

scap

e. (

Inde

ed,

photographs taken from a si

ngle

per

spec

tive

and

fram

ed b

y lin

ear

bor-

ders

can

not h

elp

but p

ull t

hing

s ou

t of c

onte

xt, s

omet

hing

that

one

con

-st

antly

see

ks to

avo

id in

an

ente

rpri

se w

here

con

text

is c

ruci

al to

the

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

the

subj

ect.

) B

ut, a

t the

ris

k of

car

icat

urin

g th

e to

wn

orev

en w

orse

, car

icat

urin

g th

e ac

t of

land

scap

e readig, what fo

llow

s is

asmall sample of the things one can see on a one-da

y ex

curs

ion

into

the

ordi

nary

cul

tura

l lan

dsca

pe o

f an

Am

eric

an s

mal

l tow

n.

. ,

Com

mon

Lan

dsca

pes

as H

isto

ric D

ocum

ents

PUTTING THINGS IN CONTEXT: THREE LEVELS

OF

MA

GN

IFIC

AT

ION

H th

ere

is a

sin

gle

rule

abo

ut th

e in

terp

reta

tion

of la

ndsc

ape

(or

any

othe

rar

tifac

t for

that

mat

ter)

, it i

s, I

sub

mit,

to v

iew

it in

its

cont

ext o

f pl

ace

and time-of geography and hi

stor

y, if

you

ple

ase.

Con

text

, of

cour

se, i

sw

hat p

atho

logi

sts

look

for

whe

n th

ey e

xam

ine

cells

und

er a

mic

rosc

ope

ata

low

leve

l of m

agni

fcat

ion

but w

ith a

larg

e fie

ld o

f vis

ion.

Bef

ore

look

ing

at th

e de

tails

of

a ce

ll, p

atho

logi

sts

wan

t to

see

whe

re th

e ce

ll is

, wha

t kin

dof

tiss

ue is

aro

und

it. O

nly

whe

n th

ey u

nder

stan

d th

at a

re th

ey r

eady

toin

crea

se th

e le

vel o

f mag

nifc

atio

n an

d lo

ok in

det

ail a

t the

cel

l's in

tern

al

anat

omy.

We

appr

oach

Bel

lefo

nte

in th

e sa

me

way

by

getti

ng tw

o co

mpo

site

bird

's-e

ye v

iew

s of

the

tow

n fr

om n

earb

y hi

ltops

-one

at a

con

side

rabl

e

dist

ance

, ano

ther

clo

ser

in. O

nly

then

do

we

desc

end

into

the

stre

ets

of th

e

tow

n fo

r a

fina

l clo

se-u

p lo

ok.

Fort

unat

ely

for

this

exe

rcis

e, B

elle

font

e is

a f

airl

y hi

ly p

lace

, and

go

od v

iew

of t

he to

wn

can

be h

ad fr

om s

ever

al h

iltop

s ne

arby

. Tha

t is

not

alw

ays

the

case

, of

cour

se, a

nd th

at is

why

stu

dent

s of

land

scap

e ty

pica

lyst

art a

n ex

erci

se o

f th

is k

ind

by seeking out a vantage point-a high

build

ing

or fi

reto

wer

per

haps

-to

obta

in a

com

posi

te v

iew

of t

he p

lace

to

be s

tudi

ed. M

aps

and

aeri

al p

hoto

grap

hs, o

f co

urse

, ser

ve m

uch

the

sam

e

purp

ose

(fig

. 1).

At v

ario

us s

cale

s th

ey a

re w

onde

rful

ly u

sefu

l dev

ices

to

help

us

sim

pliy

and

gen

eral

ize

our

idea

s ab

out l

arge

com

plic

ated

pla

ces

and,

abo

ve a

ll, to

see

them

in th

eir

larg

er g

eogr

aphi

c co

ntex

t.

Tw

o V

iew

s fr

om a

Dis

tanc

e

Fro

m th

e to

p of

a hi in th

e pr

ospe

rous

farm

and

outs

ide

Bel

lefo

nte

one

can

get a

sw

eepi

ng v

iew

of

the

tow

n an

d its

sur

roun

ding

s (f

ig. 2

). E

ven

at

this

low

leve

l of

mag

nifi

catio

n on

e ca

n m

ake

som

e ed

ucat

ed g

uess

es a

bout

the

plac

e. T

he to

wn

com

man

ds th

e en

tran

ce o

f a

gap

in a

mou

ntai

n ri

dge

whe

re a

littl

e st

ream

has

cut

a n

otch

thro

ugh

that

rid

ge. I

t req

uire

s lit

tleim

agia

tion

to g

uess

that

the

tow

ns

pros

peri

ty, s

uch

as it

is, h

as d

eriv

ed

from

com

man

d of

tran

spor

tatio

n ro

utes

thro

ugh

that

gap

. Pri

ma

faci

e th

etown seems to be a market center and, one is inclied to guess, a social

cent

er to

o, lie SO m

any

othe

r A

mer

ican

tow

ns th

at g

rew

up

at th

e ju

nc-

tion

of r

oads

. Wha

t els

e it

may

be

this

dis

tant

vie

w d

oes

not r

evea

l, bu

t it

Fig.

1.

M

aps

are

sing

ular

ly u

sefu

l dei

ces

not m

erel

y to

sho

w w

here

thin

gs a

re

loca

ted

but a

lso

to p

lace

them

in th

eir

geog

raph

ic c

onte

xts.

Thi

s fi

re is

ex-

cerp

tedf

rom

the

U.S. Geologial Survey

s 19

08 "

Bel

lfon

te, P

enns

ylva

ni,

Qua

dran

gle"

(1

:62,

500) and

show

s th

e to

wn

s lo

catio

n w

ith r

espe

ct to

Bal

dE

agle

Mou

ntai

n, w

hich

bis

ects

the

map

WSW

-EN

E. N

otic

e th

e fu

nnel

ing

ofro

ad,

railroad, and waterways through the watergap carved by Sp

ring

Creek between Milsburg and Bellfonte. AU ph

otog

raph

s in

this

cha

pter

by

Peir

ce L

ewu.

Com

mon

Lan

dsca

pes

as H

Isto

ric D

ocum

ents

121

Fig.

2.

Pa

nora

mic

vie

of

Bel

lfon

te f

rom

a h

iltop

abo

ut a

mil

sout

h of

tow

n. R

isin

g be

yond

the

tow

n is

Bal

d E

agle

Mou

ntai

n, b

roke

n by

the

wat

erga

p ca

rved

by

Spri

ng C

reek

(le

ft m

iddl

egro

und)

. The

com

man

d of

rou

tes

thro

ugh

the

gap

gave

Bel

lfon

te it

s ec

onom

ic a

nd social reason for being; lie

mos

t Am

eric

an c

ities

and

tow

ns, i

t pro

sper

ed b

ecau

se it

com

man

ded

a ro

ute

junc

tion.

, ,

, '

invi

tes

ques

tions

that

can

be

answ

ered

onl

y by

ste

ppin

g up

the

leve

l of

mag

ncat

ion

and

getti

ng a

clo

ser

view

of t

he to

wn.

From

a s

econ

d hi

ltop,

Hal

f M

oon

Hil,

a k

noll

that

ove

rloo

ks th

e

railr

oad

stat

ion

and

com

mer

cial

dis

tric

t, o

ne c

an m

ake

out t

he g

ener

aloutlies of the town

s m

ain

indu

stri

al, c

omm

erci

al, a

nd r

esid

entia

l dis

-

tric

ts. I

n th

e fo

regr

ound

, alo

ng S

prin

g C

reek

and

the

railr

oad

trac

ks, i

s a

strin

g of

larg

e ni

nete

enth

-cen

tury

indu

stria

l bui

ldin

gs, m

any

appa

rent

ly in

an a

dvan

ced

stat

e of

dec

ay. (

We

won

der

abou

t wha

t kid

of

indu

stry

flou

rish

ed th

ere

and

why

it is

no

mor

e, a

nd w

e re

min

d ou

rsel

ves

to ta

ke a

clos

er lo

ok a

t the

ban

ks o

f th

e cr

eek

whe

n w

e de

scen

d in

to th

e to

wn.

) O

n

the

edge

of

that

indu

stri

al d

istr

ict,

als

o ne

ar th

e cr

eek,

is th

e ra

ilroa

d

stat

ion.

The

tow

ns

mai

n st

reet

, Hig

h St

reet

, lea

ds uphi from th

e ra

ioad

'.1

, ,;

Peir

ce le

wis

to th

e co

urth

ouse

, a c

omm

andi

ng w

hite

buildig with a se

lf-c

onsc

ious

lycl

assi

cal p

orch

. Muc

h of

the

com

mer

cial

dis

tric

t is

stru

ng o

ut a

long

Hih

Stre

et b

etw

een

the

railr

oad

stat

ion

and

cour

thou

se. E

ven

at th

is d

ista

nce

one

susp

ects

that

thos

e tw

o hu

ildig

s se

rved

as

func

tiona

l anc

hors

-po

litic

s at

one

end

of

the

stre

et, c

omm

erce

at t

he o

ther

. Ind

eed,

fro

m th

ehi

ltop

one

can

mak

e ou

t tw

o bu

lky

hote

ls: o

ne (

the

Bus

h H

ouse

) ac

ross

the

stre

et fr

om th

e ra

ilroa

d st

atio

n, th

e ot

her

(the

Bro

cker

hoff)

across the

stre

et f

rom

the

cour

thou

se. O

ne is

inclied to guess th

at th

e ra

ilroa

d ho

tel

miht have served commercial travelers-

drum

mer

s an

d th

e lik

e. E

qual

ly,

it se

ems

plau

sibl

e th

at th

e co

urth

ouse

hot

el w

as th

e se

at o

f a

good

dea

l of

unof

fcia

l pol

itica

l act

ivity

.On the his beyond the co

mm

erci

al d

istr

ict r

ises

the

tow

ns

mai

nre

side

ntia

l are

a. E

ven

from

this

dis

tant

hito

p th

ere

is e

vide

nce

of r

esid

en-

tial s

egre

gatio

n. T

o th

e le

ft (

the

nort

h si

de o

f to

wn)

the

resi

dent

ial a

rea

is a

hosk

y ki

d of

pla

ce, a

nd o

ne c

an s

pot t

he c

hara

cter

istic

pro

fie

of N

orw

ay

spru

ces,

a tr

ee m

uch

helo

ved

hy h

igh-

styl

e ro

man

tic la

ndsc

ape

desi

gner

sof the late nineteenth-century in America. T

his

man

-mad

e fo

rest

ispu

nctu

red

hy s

ever

al c

hurc

h st

eepl

es a

nd m

ansa

rd r

oofs

, gre

en w

ithve

rdig

rs-s

igns

of V

icto

rian

mon

ey a

nd V

icto

rian

goo

d ta

ste.

To

the

righ

t(t

he s

outh

sid

e of

tow

n), h

owev

er, t

he re

side

ntia

l are

a of

Bel

lefo

nte

issu

hsta

ntia

lly d

iffe

rent

, eve

n th

ough

it li

es a

hout

the

sam

e di

stan

ce f

rom

the

cent

er o

f to

wn

and

one

pres

umes

that

it w

as buit ahout the same time.

Land

scap

ing

is s

cant

ier,

and

the

fash

iona

ble

late

Vic

tori

an a

rchi

tect

ure

isto

tally

abs

ent.

From

the

hito

p it

is h

ard

to m

ake

out m

uch

deta

il, b

utmost of the houses on the south si

de o

f to

wn

are

hloc

ky, u

nado

rned

,re

ctan

guar

two-

stor

y ho

uses

-the

I-ho

uses

and

wat

ered

-dow

n G

eorg

ians

that

had

hee

n fa

shio

nahl

e in

col

onia

l and

ear

ly n

atio

nal P

enns

ylva

nia

but

had

gone

out

of

styl

e am

ong

the

affu

ent e

lite

by th

e tie of th

e C

ivi W

ar(f

ig. 3

).4

In s

hort, the north side of Bellefonte w

as k

eepi

ng u

p ni

cely

with

late

nie

teen

th-c

entu

ry n

atio

nal s

tyle

s, a

s on

e w

ould

exp

ect i

n th

e es

tab-

lishm

ent p

art o

f to

wn

(fig

. 4).

But

Vic

tori

an fashion evidently did not

reac

h th

e so

uth

side

, and

one is led to guess at a substantial schism

betw

een

the

esta

blis

hmen

t nor

th s

ide

and

the

wor

king

-cla

ss s

outh

sid

e. T

o

be sure, both are parts of the same town, bu

t one

sus

pect

s th

at th

eyoc

cupi

ed tw

o ve

ry d

iffe

rent

wor

lds-

diff

eren

t inc

omes

, dif

eren

t eth

nic

back

grou

nds,

dif

fere

nt r

elig

ions

, and

dif

eren

t soc

ial s

truc

ture

s.L

ater

on,

whe

n w

e de

scen

d in

to th

e to

wn,

thos

e gu

esse

s w

i be

cor-

robo

rate

d. T

he fa

shio

nabl

e ch

urch

es o

f nor

th-s

ide

Bel

lefo

nte

are

all e

stab

-lishment Protestant de

nom

iatio

ns, w

hie

the

chur

ches

of south-side Belle-

Com

mon

Lan

dsca

pes

as H

isto

ric

Doc

lI..

.12

3

Fig.

3.

Si

mpl

e tw

o-st

ory

Geo

rgia

n ho

uses

wer

e th

e fa

shio

nabl

e no

rm in

ear

lynineteenth-century Pennsylvania, but they continued to be buil and inhabited

by u

nfas

hion

able

peo

ple

alm

ost u

ntil

1900

, whe

n th

e el

ite w

ere

emul

atin

g th

ela

test

Got

hic,

1ta

liana

te, a

nd Q

ueen

Ann

e st

yles

that

issu

ed r

egul

arly

fro

m

Phild

elph

ia, N

ew Y

ork

, Bos

ton,

and

Lon

don.

Thi

s is

blu

e-co

llr s

outh

-sid

Bel

lfon

te.

font

e ar

e R

oman

Cat

holic

and

fund

amen

talis

t Pro

test

ant. We wi

also

lear

n, la

ter

on, w

hen

we

read

the

grav

esto

nes

in th

e C

atho

lic c

emet

ery

inth

e m

iddl

e of

sou

th-s

ide

Bel

lefo

nte,

that

mos

t of

thos

e C

atho

lics

are

late

nine

teen

th-c

entu

ry a

rriv

als:

mai

nly

Iris

h, G

erm

ans,

and

mos

t rece

ntly

Ital

ian.

Mos

t of

thos

e It

alia

ns, w

e ca

n le

arn

from

conv

ersa

tions

on

the

street, came from the

Mez

zogi

rno

(Cal

abria

, mai

nly)

and

Sic

ily. T

hat w

as

desp

erat

ely

poor

cou

ntry

in th

e la

te n

inet

eent

h ce

ntur

y, o

f co

urse

, and

one

gues

ses

that

thos

e so

uthe

rn I

talia

ns w

ho c

ame

to B

elle

font

e w

ere

poor

folk

, har

dly

peop

le w

ho w

ere

plug

ged

into

the

tow

ns

mid

dle-

clas

s Pr

otes

-

tant

soc

iety

. By

cont

rast

, we

can

get s

ome

flav

or o

f th

e no

n-C

atho

lic s

ide

of town (again later on) by reading the names on Bellefonte

s im

posi

ng

Civ

i War

mon

umen

t in

fron

t of

the

cour

thou

se. T

he m

onum

ent c

arri

es

hund

reds

and

hun

dred

s of

nam

es (

supp

osed

ly e

very

man

who

ser

ved

even

124

Peir

ce le

wis

Fig.

4.

A

sam

ple

offa

shio

nabl

e V

icto

rian

arc

hite

ctur

e fr

om a

ffue

nt n

orth

-sid

Bel

lfon

te, b

uilt

abou

t the

sam

e tim

e as

the

unfa

shio

nabl

e G

eorg

in h

ouse

s in

fire

tem

pora

riy in

the

Uni

on A

rmy

is li

sted

), b

ut th

ere

are

no I

talia

n na

mes

on th

e ro

lls a

nd f

ew I

rish

nam

es. O

ne m

ust c

oncl

ude

that

ear

ly n

ine-

teen

th-c

entu

ry B

elle

font

e w

as in

habi

ted

larg

ely

by A

nglo

-Sax

on P

rote

s-ta

nts,

and

it is

nat

ural

to s

uppo

se th

at d

urin

g th

e ni

etee

nth

cent

ury

atle

ast a

nd p

erha

ps la

ter

the

tow

ns

affu

ent e

lite

deriv

ed fr

om th

at g

roup

.

Maximum Magnifation: The View from H

igh

Stre

et

We

can

lear

n m

ore

abou

t the

his

tory

of

Bel

lefo

nte

by d

esce

ndin

g fr

om o

urlo

fty

perc

h in

to th

e st

reet

s of

the

tow

n. B

y so

doi

ng w

e ra

ise

the

leve

l of

mag

ncat

ion

one

last

not

ch to

dis

cove

r w

hat c

an b

e le

arne

d al

ong

the

thre

e-bl

ock

stre

tch

of H

igh

Stre

et b

etw

een

the

railr

oad

stat

ion

and

the

cour

thou

se-in

effe

ct, t

he o

ld c

ente

r of

the

tow

n.T

he r

ailro

ad s

tatio

n its

elf,

a modest but respectable Stick Style

build

ing

with

Que

en A

nne

touc

hes,

pla

inly

dat

es to

somewhere around

the

' beg

inin

g of

the

twen

tieth

cen

tury

. Acr

oss

the

stre

et is

the

Bus

h

Com

mon

Lan

dsca

pes

as H

isto

ric D

ocum

ents

125

, '

Hou

se H

otel

, a s

ubst

antia

l fou

r-st

ory

Ital

iana

te b

uild

ing

that

bea

rs a

blue

pla

stic

sig

n pr

ocla

imin

g it

was

bui

lt in

186

8. H

isto

ric

sign

s m

ade

of

plas

tic a

re n

oal

waY

8 th

e m

ost r

elia

ble

sour

ces

of in

form

atio

n, b

ut th

is

one

seem

s pl

ausi

ble.

The

arc

hite

ctur

al s

tyle

is r

ight

for

the Civi War

deca

de. F

urth

erm

ore,

for

a h

otel

obv

ious

ly associated with the railroad

stat

ion

the

date

is c

onsi

sten

t with

wha

t we

know

abo

ut A

mer

ican

rai-

road

his

tory

. The

Pen

nsyl

vani

a R

ailro

ad's

Mai

n L

ine

was

fin

ishe

d be

-

twee

n Ph

iade

lphi

a an

d Pi

ttsbu

rgh

in th

e m

id-1

850s

, and

it m

akes

sen

se

that branch lines were buit to outlying places lie Bellefonte withi a

few

yea

rs. T

he s

ize

and

mod

est g

rand

eur

of th

e B

ush

Hou

se, i

n sh

ort,

isa

mea

sure

of

the

railr

oad'

s im

pact

on

the

tow

ns

econ

omy,

and

its

dign

-

fied facade allows us to conclude that the railroad brought not just

mon

ey b

ut id

eas

of V

icto

rian

sty

le a

s w

ell.

The

rai

lroa

d, in

short, was

not m

erel

y an

eco

nom

ic s

hot i

n th

e ar

m b

ut a

lso

Bel

lefo

nte

s w

idow

on

a la

rger

wor

ld o

f id

eas

and

styl

e.T

he p

rese

nt r

ailr

oad

stat

ion,

however, clearly was buit twenty

thity years later than the hotel, and on

e ha

s to

sup

pose

that

it w

as a

n

upda

tig o

f an

ear

lier

stat

ion.

Fro

m th

e lo

ok o

f the

new

sta

tion

Bel

lefo

nte

as la

te a

s th

e 18

90s

was

tryi

ng to

kee

p up

with

nat

iona

l and

inte

rnat

iona

lst

yles

of

the ties and doing sO with some success.

A c

entu

ry a

go th

is z

one

betw

een

the

hote

l and

the

railr

oad

stat

ion

was

sur

ely

a hi

ve o

f eco

nom

ic a

nd s

ocia

l act

ivity

. Tod

ay is

ano

ther

sto

ry.

The

rai

lroa

d st

atio

n is

clo

sed

and

has

been

take

n ov

er b

y th

e C

ham

ber

ofC

omm

erce

, whi

ch is

usi

ng it

for

off

ices

. The

hot

el is

clo

sed

too,

exc

ept f

orits

bar

and

diin

g ro

om, a

nd it

s cu

rren

t ow

ners

hav

e pa

inte

d th

e ex

teri

or

and

adde

d th

e pl

astic

sig

ns, a

s w

ell a

s so

me

Wila

msb

urg

embe

llshm

ents

obvi

ousl

y m

eant

to s

igny

its

hist

oric

ity. U

nlke

the origial desigers of

thes

e buidigs, who knew very w

ell w

hat t

hey

wer

e do

ing,

the

curr

ent

cust

odia

ns h

ave

a fu

zzie

r id

ea o

f st

yle

and

hist

ory.

Sin

ce 18

68, o

ne s

us-

pect

s, a

t lea

st s

ome

of th

e co

nnec

tions

with

the

wor

ld o

f id

eas

have

com

eun

plug

ged.

Tod

ay, t

he im

med

iate

env

irons

of t

he h

otel

and

rai

lroad

sta

tion

are

fair

ly b

leak

. The

gro

und

floo

r of

the

hote

l con

tain

s a

row

of

shop

wi-

dow

s, b

ut o

nly

abou

t hal

f of

the

shop

s ar

e oc

cupi

ed a

nd th

ose

by lo

w-r

ent

occu

pant

s: a

cou

nty

relie

f age

ncy

and

a cu

t-ra

te o

ptom

etris

t. A

cros

s th

est

reet

, in

shar

p co

ntra

st w

ith th

e Ita

liana

te elegance of the hotel, are an

il-te

nded

and

opt

imis

tical

ly la

rge

park

ing

lot a

nd a

city

par

k. T

he p

ark

has been planted with grass and a few trees and furnished with a newly

buit gazebo,

and

a c

ivic

foun

tain

. Bot

h pa

rk a

nd p

arki

ng lo

t are

fairl

y

' Peirce lewis

But

it w

as n

o pa

radi

se e

ither

. The

cou

nty

hist

oric

al s

ocie

ty, o

f co

urse

,m

akes

muc

h of

Bel

lefo

nte

s ar

chite

ctur

al tr

easu

res

and

for

good

rea

son.

Man

y ar

e su

bsta

ntia

l and

sop

hist

icat

ed. A

long

Hig

h St

reet

, how

ever

,

ther

e ar

e el

emen

ts o

f the

land

scap

e th

at ie

ad o

ne to

sus

pect

that

wea

lthan

d so

phis

ticat

ion

wer

e no

t unm

ixed

ble

ssin

gs. T

hree

inst

itutio

ns, a

lllocated within a block of the courthouse, a

re f

amia

r features in the

Am

eric

an s

mal

l-to

wn

land

scap

e: th

e B

PO

E, t

he Y

MC

A, a

nd th

e W

CT

U.

It is

eas

y to

dis

mis

s th

em a

ll as

qua

int o

r in

sign

fica

nt; n

one

seem

s to

poss

ess

muc

h so

cial

rel

evan

ce in

thes

e cl

osin

g da

ys o

f th

e tw

entie

th c

en-

tury

. But

it is

wor

th r

ecal

lng

wha

t eac

h of

thos

e th

ree

inst

itutio

ns d

id a

ndth

e so

cial

pat

holo

gies

that

eac

h re

flect

ed. I

n ni

nete

enth

-cen

tury

Am

eric

aea

ch p

erfo

rmed

dif

fere

nt f

unct

ions

fro

m th

ose

they

do

toda

y, a

nd ta

ken

toge

ther

thei

r pr

esen

ce o

n H

igh

Stre

et te

lls a

som

ber

stor

y ab

out t

his

pict

ures

que

little

tow

n.C

onsi

der

the

BPO

E, f

or e

xam

ple.

The

Ben

evol

ent a

nd P

rote

ctiv

eO

rder

of

Elk

s w

as f

ound

ed f

or th

e sa

me

reas

on th

at th

e In

depe

nden

t

Ord

er o

f O

dd F

ello

ws,

the

Red

Men

, and

the

Woo

dmen

of t

he W

orld

wer

e

foun

ded-

to c

are

for

the

wid

ows

and

orph

ans

of m

embe

rs w

ho h

ad b

een

kied

in a

ccid

ents

or

died

of

typh

oid

and

to p

rovi

de d

igne

d C

hris

tian

buri

als

that

a f

athe

rles

s fa

my

with

out l

ie in

sura

nce

coul

d no

t rea

diy

affo

rd.

Tho

se f

rate

rnal

lodg

es w

ere,

in e

ffec

t, th

e pr

ecur

sors

of

lie in

sur-

ance

com

pani

es a

nd s

ocia

l sec

urity

age

ncie

s. T

hey

wer

e in

vent

ed to

hel

pru

ral f

olk

, who

wer

e fl

ocki

ng f

rom

far

ms

into

the

new

citi

es o

f in

dust

rial

i-in

g A

mer

ica,

cop

e w

ith th

e un

fam

ilar

phys

ical

and

soc

ial h

azar

ds o

f new

citie

s an

d ne

w f

acto

ries

-in

effe

ct, c

ope

with

a w

hole

new

soc

iety

that

was

bein

g bo

rn b

efor

e th

eir eyes. It was a society that offered unforeseen

oppo

rtun

ities

but

unf

ores

een

peri

s as

wel

l, a

crue

l, da

nger

ous

soci

ety

in

whi

ch h

eret

ofor

e ru

ral p

eopl

e ne

eded

pro

tect

ion

and

need

ed it

bad

ly. T

heB

POE

was

just

one

for

m o

f su

ch p

rote

ctio

n.A

cros

s th

e st

reet

the

YM

CA

per

form

ed a

sim

ar fu

nctio

n. U

nder

-

grad

uate

stu

dent

s at

my

univ

ersi

ty g

rew

up

in a

twen

tieth

-cen

tury

wor

ldw

here

the

YM

CA

is c

omm

only

vie

wed

as

a pl

ace

of r

ecre

atio

n fo

r ad

oles

-ce

nts

and

whe

re c

hild

ren

are

take

n by

thei

r pa

rent

s on

Sat

urda

y m

orn-

ings

to le

arn

how

to swi. But in

the

nine

teen

th c

entu

ry th

e Y

MC

A w

as a

cruc

ially

impo

rtan

t ins

titut

ion.

It p

rovi

ded

safe

hav

en f

or inocent young

men

, fre

sh f

rom

the

farm

, who

had

com

e to

fid new jobs but found

wel

l a q

uite

pat

holo

gica

l urb

an e

nviro

nmen

t. T

his

envi

ronm

ent o

ffere

dop

port

uniti

es th

at th

e ov

ercr

owde

d fa

rmla

nd d

id n

ot, w

hich

is, o

f cou

rse,

Com

mon

Lan

dsca

pes

as H

isto

ric D

.ent

s

why

the

youn

g m

en c

ame.

(Y

oung

wom

en c

ame

too,

and

they

for

med

the

YW

CA

.) B

U\tt

he b

urge

onin

g ci

ties

and

tow

ns o

f nin

etee

nth-

cent

ury

Am

er-

ica

wer

e ea

sy p

lace

s fo

r th

ose

fres

h-fa

ced

farm

boy

s an

d gi

ls to

lose

thei

rmoney, their vitue, their health, an

d ev

en th

eir

lives

. The

YM

CA

and

the

YW

CA

sou

ght t

o av

ert s

uch

disa

ster

s by

providig the young si

ngle

new

-

com

er a

cle

an s

afe

plac

e to

sle

ep, c

heap

nou

rish

ig meals, and some

prot

ectio

n ag

ains

t the

evi

ls o

f th

e st

reet

. It i

s w

orth

rem

embe

rig

that

syphis and gonorrhea were not joking matters before the invention of

sulfa

dru

gs a

nd p

enic

iln. T

he Y

MC

A's

saf

e C

hris

tian

envi

ronm

ent w

asno

t a lu

xury

for

you

ng p

eopl

e in

nin

etee

nth-

cent

ury

Am

eric

an to

wns

: It

was

an

indi

spen

sabl

e fo

rm o

f pr

otec

tion

agai

nst a

n en

viro

nmen

t tha

t tho

seinnocent rural youngsters had never seen before.

Acr

oss

the

stre

et th

e W

CT

U b

uild

ing

give

s ev

iden

ce o

f ye

t ano

ther

path

olog

y (f

ig. 9

). T

he h

isto

ry o

f pr

ohib

ition

in th

e U

nite

d St

ates

is a

com

plic

ated

bus

ines

s. O

ne w

ould

har

dly

know

that

, how

ever

, by

liste

nig

to c

onte

mpo

rary

pop

his

tori

ans,

who

hav

e pe

rsua

ded

man

y A

mer

ican

s

(includig most of m

y st

uden

ts)

that

Pro

hibi

tion

was

a s

ily e

xper

ient

,im

pose

d on

the

natio

n by

igno

rant

ext

rem

ists

. Acc

ordi

g to

that

sam

e

stor

y, th

e W

omen

s C

hris

tian

Tem

pera

nce

Uni

on w

as la

rgel

y a

colle

ctio

nof

hat

chet

-wie

ldig

fan

atic

s.T

he W

CT

U h

eadq

uart

ers

on H

igh

Stre

et in

Bel

lefo

nte

cast

s co

nsid

er-

able

dou

bt o

n th

e pr

emis

es o

f th

at p

op h

isto

ry. T

he buidig, which bears

a 19

03 d

ate

ston

e, is

a la

rge,

for

mal

bri

ck a

nd b

row

nsto

ne p

ile, w

hich

besp

eaks

mon

ey, t

aste

, and

ser

ious

pur

pose

. In

Bel

lefo

nte,

as

in m

any

othe

r pa

rts

of A

mer

ica,

the

WC

TU

was

a s

erio

us in

stitu

tion,

for

the

sim

ple

reas

on th

at a

lcoh

olis

m w

as a

ser

ious

mat

ter

in n

iete

enth

-cen

tury

Am

eric

a. I

t is

easy

eno

ugh

in th

e la

te tw

entie

th c

entu

ry to

sni

cker

at t

hose

Gra

nt W

ood

wom

en w

ith th

eir thi lips and gr

dedi

catio

n to

the

supp

res-

sion

of

fun.

But

inst

itutio

ns s

uch

as th

e W

CT

U in

Bel

lefo

nte

do n

ot a

rise

with

out g

ood

reas

on. I

ndee

d, o

ne m

ust c

oncl

ude

that

the

abus

e of

alco

hol

in p

lace

s lik

e B

elle

font

e pe

rhap

s w

as n

ot qute as amusing as W. C. Fi

eld!

late

r tr

ied

to m

ake

it se

em.

Con

side

red

in is

olat

ion,

non

e of

thes

e th

ree

inst

itutio

ns a

low

s pr

o,fo

und

conc

lusi

ons

abou

t the

nat

ure

of n

iete

enth

-cen

tury

Bellefonte. BU1

seen

as

a gr

oup

and

in th

e co

ntex

t of a

bur

geon

ig u

rban

place, the

BP

OE

, the

YM

CA

, and

the

WC

TU

ref

lect

a tie and an environment tha

rese

mbl

es n

ot a

t all

the

rose

ate

imag

e of

Nor

man

Roc

kwel

l's s

mal

-toW

!

Am

eric

a. l'

or is

that

the

only

evi

denc

e. A

l alo

ng H

igh

Stre

et th

e sh

utte

r

134

Pei

rce

Lew

is

Fig.

9.

Pe

trik

en H

aU, t

he W

CT

U B

uild

ing,

bea

rs a

dat

e st

one

of 1

903.

It b

e-sp

eaks

mon

ey, t

aste

, and

ser

ious

pur

pose

.

of e

arly

and

mid

-nin

etee

nth-

cent

ury

hous

es a

re w

orka

ble

thin

gs, a

nd th

eym

ean

busi

ness

(fi

g. 1

0). T

hey

are

pict

ures

que

enou

gh to

day,

and

on

the

tow

ns

wel

l-po

liced

str

eets

they

are

sel

dom

clo

sed.

But

they

do

clos

e, a

ndth

ey d

o w

ork

, and

one

can

sur

mis

e th

at in

a n

inet

eent

h-ce

ntur

y to

wn

that

requ

ired

the

BP

OE

and

the

YM

CA

and

the

WC

TU

all

in th

e sp

ace

of o

nebl

ock

to d

eal w

ith ju

st a

few

of i

ts s

ocia

l pat

holo

gies

thos

e sh

utte

rs w

ere

put there for a reason.

'::

Com

mon

land

scap

es a

s H

isto

ric D

ocum

ents

Fig.

10.

Shu

tters

for

str

eet-

leve

l win

dow

s. T

he h

ouse

, whi

ch f

ront

s on

Hig

hStreet o';Z

y a

bloc

k fr

om th

e co

urth

ouse

and

the

maj

esty

of

the

law

, dat

es t(

the

earl

y ni

nete

enth

cen

tury

, a ti

me

whe

n ur

ban

shut

ters

nee

ded

to b

esh

utta

ble.

Urb

an la

wle

ssne

ss d

id n

ot o

rign

ate

in th

e tw

entie

th c

entu

ry.

13'

Pei

rce

Lew

is

LES

SO

NS

FR

OM

TH

E L

AN

DS

CA

PE

Hih

Str

eet i

n B

elle

font

e is

not

uni

que

amon

g th

e m

ain

stre

ets

of s

mal

l-to

wn

Am

eric

a, a

nd B

elle

font

e is

not

uni

que

eith

er. B

ut th

at is

pre

cise

ly th

epo

int.

Its

ordi

nary

hum

an la

ndsc

ape

has

thin

gs to

tell

us, n

ot o

nly

abou

ton

e sm

all t

own

in th

e m

ount

ains

of

cent

ral P

enns

ylva

nia

but a

lso

abou

tth

e la

rger

wor

ld o

f ni

nete

enth

-cen

tury

Am

eric

a. T

here

is e

vide

nce

all u

pan

d do

wn

the

stre

et th

at th

e ur

bani

zatio

n of

nie

teen

th-c

entu

ry A

mer

ica

was

mor

e th

an ju

st a

cha

nge

in s

cale

of e

cono

mic

ent

erpr

ise,

mor

e th

anju

st a

shi

t in

popu

latio

n. T

he B

elle

font

es o

f th

e ni

nete

enth

cen

tury

wer

eof

ten

rich

, exh

ilara

ting

plac

es, b

ut th

ey w

ere

also

wre

nchi

g, d

ange

rous

plac

es f

or a

nat

ion

that

, to

borr

ow R

icha

rd H

ofst

adte

rs

wor

ds, w

as b

orn

in th

e co

untr

y an

d m

oved

to th

e ci

ty.6

It w

as m

ore

than

just

a m

ove

from

one place to another; Americans, after al, have al

way

s be

en o

n th

e m

ove.

Thi

s w

as a

mov

e fr

om o

ne w

orld

to a

noth

er. A

nd th

e B

elle

font

es o

f A

mer

-ic

a fo

rmed

cru

cial

ste

ppin

g st

ones

on

Am

eric

as

cent

ury-

long

con

vers

ion

from

a r

ural

wor

ld to

an

urba

n on

e.B

ut th

at m

ove

is o

ver

now

, and

the

land

scap

e of

Bel

lefo

nte

s m

ain

stre

et m

akes

it o

bvio

us th

at th

e cu

rren

ts o

f hi

stor

y ha

ve s

wir

led

by th

eto

wn

and

left

it o

n th

e sh

ore,

bea

ched

, lik

e so

muc

h ot

her

hist

oric

alde

tritu

s in

Am

eric

as

thro

w-a

way

soc

iety

. Man

y of

its

dow

ntow

n st

ore

wid

ows

are

empt

y; it

s downtown parkig lo

ts s

tand

wai

tig f

or c

ars

that

seld

om c

ome;

buidigs such as

its

old

oper

a ho

use

com

man

d re

nts SO low

that

a c

ut-r

ate

furn

iture

sto

re h

as ta

ken

up re

side

nce

ther

e an

d a

who

le-

sale

bee

r di

stri

buto

r ha

s its

war

ehou

se a

t the

rea

r (f

ig. l

l). Both these

ente

rpri

ses

are

(to

use

the

jarg

on o

f so

cial

sci

ence

) sp

ace-

cons

umpt

ive,

whi

ch is

sim

ply

anot

her

way

of

sayi

ng th

at in

a p

rosp

erou

s pl

ace

rent

sw

ould

long

sin

ce h

ave

forc

ed th

em to

the

outs

kirt

s, w

here

land

is c

heap

. If

the

WC

TU

and

BPO

E a

re in

dica

tors

of

nine

teen

th-c

entu

ry s

ocia

l pat

hol-

ogy,

the

loca

tion

of a

who

lesa

le b

eer distriutor and a large cu

t-ra

tefu

rnitu

re s

tore

on

wha

t oug

ht to

be

prim

e co

mm

erci

al la

nd is

an

equa

llycl

ear

sign

of

twen

tieth

-cen

tury

eco

nom

ic p

atho

logy

.

An

essa

y su

ch a

s th

is c

an o

nly

hint

at t

he w

ealth

of

info

rmat

ion

that

the

land

scap

e of

a p

lace

suc

h as

Bel

lefo

nte

cont

ains

. But

it s

ugge

sts,

per

haps

,so

me

of th

e be

nefi

ts a

nd s

ome

of th

e pr

oble

ms

of tr

ying

to r

ead

hist

ory

from

the

evid

ence

of

ordi

nary

hum

an la

ndsc

apes

.T

he b

enef

its, I

thin

k, a

re c

lear

eno

ugh.

Inf

orm

atio

n de

rive

d fr

om

Com

mon

Lan

dsca

pes

as H

isto

ric D

IY13

7nt

s

Fig.

11

. View at the rear of the opera house-be

com

e-fu

rnitu

re s

tore

. Thi

S w

as

prim

e sp

ace

in th

e ni

nete

enth

cen

tury

. (T

he li

ght-

colo

red

build

ing

at th

e ex

-tr

eme

righ

t is

the

rear

of

the

Bro

cker

hoff

Hot

el, a

cros

s fr

om th

e co

urth

ouse

.The large brick rectangular structure

is

the

fly

spac

e be

hind

the

stag

e of

the

oper

a ho

use.

Bee

r di

stri

buto

rs a

nd p

arki

ng lo

ts a

re li

ke f

urni

ture

sto

res,

vor

a-ci

ous

cons

umer

s of

spa

ce. T

heir

loca

tion

in th

e co

re o

f do

wnt

own

, whe

re r

ents

shou

ld b

e hi

gh, i

s pr

ima

faci

e ev

iden

ce o

f ec

onom

ic tr

oubl

e.

dire

ct o

bser

vatio

n of

land

scap

e is

, in

the

old-

fash

ione

d se

nse

of th

e te

rm,

prim

ary

data

; in

fact

, it i

s ha

rd to

imag

ine

any

data

that

are

mor

e pr

i-m

ary.

Jus

t as

impo

rtan

t, th

e da

ta a

re a

bund

ant-indeed, sometimes su-

perf

luou

sly

abun

dant

bey

ond

any

scho

lar

s re

ason

able

nee

ds. B

ut th

atab

unda

nce

allo

ws

us to

ass

embl

e hu

ge b

odie

s of

dat

a th

at b

y their very

volu

me

are

conv

inci

ng. F

inal

ly, a

nd o

f sur

pass

ing

valu

e, th

e da

ta a

re in

thei

r ge

ogra

phic

al c

onte

xt. B

y an

d la

rge,

thin

gs a

re w

here

thi

gs w

ere

with

res

pect

to o

ne a

noth

er, a

lbei

t with

som

e no

tabl

e ex

cept

ions

. As

geog

-

raph

ers

have

bee

n in

sist

ing

for

a lo

ng ti

me,

loca

tion

mat

ters

.A

nd w

hat a

re th

e lim

itatio

ns, t

he d

efec

ts, i

n th

is m

ater

ial g

eogr

aphi

-ca

l rec

ord?

In

my

own

wor

k an

d th

at o

f fe

llow

land

scap

e re

ader

s th

e m

ost

seri

ous

defe

cts

are

likel

y to

res

ide

in o

urse

lves

-the

occ

asio

nal f

ailu

re to

138

elrc

e le

wis

rem

embe

r th

at la

ndsc

ape,

like

any

art

ifac

t, is

an

inco

mpl

ete

reco

rd, t

hat

we

cann

ot h

ope

to w

rite

a c

ompl

ete

hist

ory

of a

ny p

lace

on

the

basi

s of

artif

acts

out

door

s, a

ny m

ore

than

arc

haeo

logi

sts

can

hope

to w

rite

co

mpl

ete

hist

ory

of T

roy,

no

mat

ter

how

dee

ply

they

may

dig

, no

mat

ter

how

thor

ough

y th

ey m

ay s

ift th

e di

ggin

gs. A

hug

e vo

lum

e of

mat

eria

l is

sim

ply

gone

. The

re is

, as

wel

l, a

com

mon

tem

ptat

ion

to b

e gl: to as

sert

rela

tions

hips

bet

wee

n ar

tifac

t and

idea

that

the

evid

ence

itse

lf si

mpl

y do

es

not s

uppo

rt. R

arel

y in

the

real

wor

ld o

f mat

eria

l obj

ects

does "th

is"

mea

n

that

. The

n, to

o, n

o sc

hola

r ca

n ex

pect

to a

sk q

uest

ions

of

the

land

scap

e or

to g

et r

easo

nabl

e an

swer

s w

ithou

t pri

or knowledge and without prepara-

tion.

J. H

oove

r M

acki

n, la

te p

rofe

ssor

of

geom

orph

olog

y at

the

Uni

vers

ityof

Was

hing

ton

and

perh

aps

the

mos

t bri

ant f

ield

wor

ker

I ha

ve e

ver

had

the

priv

ilege

of

know

ig, u

sed

to te

ll hi

s st

uden

ts, "

Wha

t you

get

out

of

fiel

dwor

k is

in e

xact

pro

port

ion

to th

e kn

owle

dge

you

take

into

the

fiel

d.L

ands

cape

wi n

ot p

rovi

de a

nsw

ers

to q

uest

ions

that

are

not

ask

ed, a

nd it

cannot be expected to provide good answers unless questions are carefuly

and

inte

llgen

tly f

ram

ed. T

he wise student of landscape reads deeply,

thin

ks lo

ng, a

nd p

lans

car

eful

ly b

efor

e sa

llyin

g fo

rth

into

the

com

plic

ated

wor

ld o

f ge

ogra

phic

rea

lity.

Fina

lly, a

s w

ith a

ny o

ther

met

hod

of h

isto

rica

l inq

uiry

, rea

dig

evi-

denc

e fr

om la

ndsc

ape

dem

ands

a c

onst

ant w

iingn

ess

to b

e sk

eptic

al. L

ike

mos

t art

ifac

ts, c

omm

on la

ndsc

apes

pos

e m

ore

ques

tions

than

they

are

likel

y to

ans

wer

. But

suc

h qu

estio

ns, i

n tu

rn, c

an b

e am

ong

the

mos

t

pow

erfu

l too

ls a

sch

olar

can

possess. Sometimes they force us to look

agai

n, to seek other evidence that can corroborate or contradict our

hypotheses; sometimes they send us back to the ar

chiv

es to

see

wha

tot

hers

hav

e sa

id a

bout

the

thin

gs w

e ca

n on

ly s

uspe

ct o

n th

e st

reet

;

inev

itabl

y th

ey s

end

us o

ut to

see

k fi

rst-

hand

info

rmat

ion

thro

ugh

care

ful

inte

rvie

ws

with

kno

wle

dgea

ble

old-

timer

s an

d lo

ok a

gain

at t

hing

s w

e ha

dpr

evio

usly

onl

y gl

ance

d at

.B

ut in

the

last

ana

lysi

s, I

thin

k, th

e at

tem

pt to

der

ive

mea

nig

from

com

mon

hum

an la

ndsc

apes

pos

sess

es o

ne o

verw

helm

g vi

rtue

. It k

eeps

us c

onst

antly

ale

rt to

the

wor

ld a

roun

d us

, dem

andi

ng th

at w

e pa

y at

ten-

tion

not j

ust t

o so

me

of th

e th

ings

aro

und

us b

ut to

al o

f the

m-t

he w

hole

visi

ble

wor

ld in

al o

f its

ric

h, g

lori

ous,

mes

sy, c

onfu

sing

, ugl

y, a

nd b

eaut

i-

ful c

ompl

exity

.A

nd th

at, t

o m

y w

ay o

f th

inki

ng, m

ay b

e its

gre

ates

t vir

tue.

Com

mon

Lan

dscp

es a

s H

isto

ric D

ocum

entS

NO

TE

S

1. T

here

is a

!;on

side

rabl

e lit

erat

ure

bear

ing

on th

is s

ubje

ct. T

wo

aven

ues

into

the

subj

ect a

e a collection of essays edited by D. W. Meinig,

The

Int

erpr

e-

tation of Ordinary Landscape

(New

Yor

k: O

xfor

d U

nive

rsity

Pre

ss, 1

979)

, and

my

bibl

iogr

aphi

c es

say,

"L

earn

ing

Thr

ough

Loo

king

: Geo

grap

hic

and

Oth

er

Wri

tings

abo

ut th

e A

mer

ican

Cul

tura

l Lan

dsca

pe,

American Quarterly

35, no.

3 (1

983)

:242

261, reprinted in Thomas J. Schlereth, ed.,

Mat

eria

l Cul

ture

: A

Research Guid

(Law

renc

e: U

nive

rsity

Pre

ss o

f K

ansa

s, 1

985)

, 35-

56.

2. My course is

not

uni

que.

Alth

ough

I k

now

of

no u

nive

rsity

dep

artm

ent

form

ally

cal

led

land

scap

e st

udie

s, a

sm

all i

nfor

mal

ban

d of

sch

olar

s te

ache

s a

vari

ety

of s

imila

r co

urse

s el

sew

here

in v

ario

us u

nive

rsity

dep

artm

ents

; exa

m-

ples

are

thos

e ta

ught

by

Paul

Gro

th in

the

land

scap

e ar

chite

ctur

e de

part

men

tat

the

Uni

vers

ity o

f C

alif

orni

a at

Ber

kele

y, J

ohn

Stilg

oe in

the

Am

eric

an s

tudi

es

depa

rtm

ent a

t Har

vard

Uni

vers

ity, J

ohn

JakI

e in

the

geog

raph

y de

part

men

t at

the

Uni

vers

ity o

f Illn

ois,

and

Joh

n F

rase

r H

art in

the

geog

raph

y de

part

men

t at

the

Uni

vers

ity o

f Min

neso

ta. T

here

are

man

y ot

hers

, but

mos

t owe

thei

r co

ntem

-

pora

ry f

orm

to th

e pi

onee

r w

ork

of J

ohn

Bri

ncke

rhof

f Ja

ckso

n, f

ound

er o

f th

em

agaz

ine

Lan

dcap

e an

d its

edi

tor

from

195

1 to

196

8 an

d hi

mse

lf th

e te

ache

r

of c

eleb

rate

d co

urse

s at

Ber

kele

y an

d H

arva

rd. T

he s

ingl

e be

st a

ppre

ciat

ion

ofJa

ckso

n an

d hi

s w

ork

is D

onal

d M

eirii

gs

"Rea

ding

the

Land

scap

e: A

n A

ppre

cia-

tion

of W

. G. H

oski

ns a

nd J

. B. J

acks

on," in D. W. Meinig, ed.

The

Int

erpr

et

tion of Ordinary Landscape

(New

Yor

k: O

xfor

d U

nive

rsity

Pre

ss, 1

979)

, 195

-

244.

Mei

nig

s es

say

cont

ains

a f

airl

y co

mpl

ete

bibl

iogr

aphy

of

Jack

son

s se

min

al

wor

k up

to 1

978.

3. F

or a

his

toric

al-g

eogr

aphi

cal p

rofi

le o

f B

elle

font

e, s

ee P

eirc

e L

ewis

,

Sm

all T

own

in P

enns

ylva

nia,

Ann

als

of th

e A

ssoc

iatio

n of

Am

eric

an G

eogr

a-

pher

s 62

, no.

2 (

1972

):32

3-35

1, r

epri

nted

in J

. F. H

art,

ed.

Reg

ions

of

the

United States

(New

Yor

k: H

arpe

r an

d R

ow, 1

974)

, 323

-351

.

4. Fred Kniffen, "F

olk

Hou

sing

, Key

to D

iffus

ion,

Ann

als

of th

e A

ssoc

ia-

tion of American Geographers

55 (

1965

):17

3-19

3. S

ee a

lso

Peir

ce L

ewis

, "C

om-

mon

Hou

ses,

Cul

tura

l Spo

or,

Lan

dsca

pe

19, n

o, 2

(19

75):

1-22

,

5. For an excellent account of ho

w th

ese

orga

niza

tiow

orke

d, s

ee R

icha

rd

H. S

chei

n, "

A G

eogr

aphi

cal a

nd H

isto

rica

l Acc

ount

of

the

Am

eric

an B

enev

o-le

nt F

rate

rnal

Ord

er" (master

s th

esis

, The

Pen

nsyl

vani

a S

tate

Uni

vers

ity,

1983

).

6. Richard

Hof

stad

ter,

The Age of Reform,

especially chapter 1, "T

he

Agr

aria

n M

yth

and

Com

mer

cial

Rea

litie

s" (New York: Knopf, Vintage Books,

1955), p. 23.