I’m for progress 100%, but I’m for REAL progress. Not the kind that is merely called progress as a way of making the destruction of history seem okay.
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That’s exactly what New Jersey did when they tore down a Revolutionary-era house that many people had been trying to save. It was done as a way to expand a freaking highway.
The Hugg-Harrison-Glover home had been a historic part of the landscape and dated back to 1744 and was eventually seized by the Department of Transportation via eminent domain.
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One day after a group of people working to save the home filed a lawsuit in an attempt to postpone the house’s destruction, construction crews demolished it in the dark of night. The action has Gov. Chris Christie’s office asking questions.
The demolition was necessary to help complete the nearly-billion dollar Direct Connection roadway project which will “improve the interchange of routes 76, 295 and 42,” according to The Blaze.
A Philly.com report indicated that Bellmawr Mayor Frank Filipek is horrified by the demolition of the home, stating that Bellmawr only gave permission to bring down the garage near the home, and not the home itself.
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“I talked to the [state transportation] commissioner’s office this morning, and they told me it was their property and they could do whatever they wanted with it.”
It’s not clear yet is Gov. Christie will launch an investigation into potential wrongdoing by the state, but the DOT and State History Preservation Office claim that the home didn’t qualify for “historic preservation” status.
This is absolutely appalling! How anyone can look at such a historic home and think to tear it down simply to make it easier for people drive through their crappy state is horrifying.
