Jackson's Sawmill Bridge (1878), Lancaster County. December 2020
[from FB post: December 15, 2020]
The only bridge in Lancaster County that is not perpendicular to the stream. Also, my vote for the most scenic since it is next to an Amish farm and a meadow
A window onto the idyllic - for now
I have written about covered bridges and their associated sense of nostalgia {see: Covered Bridges}. When I saw this bridge in its almost staged setting on a stream, by a meadow, next to a working Amish farm, I was struck with the beauty of the entire scene. "This could be a painting," I thought. One question nagged at me though - for how long? A potentially disastrous future lies in store with development - but also without it. During the lockdown year, my brother and I drove all over York and Lancaster counties for our daily walks. Basically, two frequent comments emerged: "I hardly recognize this place" OR "this place hasn't changed since we were kids".
The great Northeast Megalopolis eats at the edges of where I grew up. Philadelphia/New York steals bits of Lancaster County and Baltimore steals parts of York County. The American Dream requires a home with a yard and that all takes SPACE. The USA grows in population every year - sometimes more, sometimes less but the trend is upward. Land is eaten up by development that is deemed beneficial usually by short-sighted county commissioners or city officials not looking beyond the next election. The elected ones help out local business leaders/friends. I learned about this first hand in the years I stayed in Milford, PA - some people called it corruption, but I think it's just part of life. In Washington, DC, a "planned city", a lot of projects have been so twisted by local politics that in the end they are unrecognizable {See: Carnegie Library}. So much productive/beautiful land and so many historic buildings {See: Penn Station} have been lost to "crony development".
Then there is the land that has "never changed". Although I thank God for it and its beauty, like the Jackson's Sawmill Bridge, a corollary comment naturally follows "this place hasn't changed since we were kids" which is "Can you imagine living out here??" The only reason many of the beautiful landscapes of the area have not changed is that they are too remote to be attractive for living. Who will elect to stay in such places in a world that demands certain things for life to be "livable"? The internet is now beyond a luxury - it is a near necessity and yet internet is not available everywhere. Will remote areas depopulate like in Italy and France where entire localities have been abandoned? Who will care about keeping up a lovely covered bridge if no one even lives there?
What will formerly beautiful areas look like if they all get eaten up by development? Even if planned and done well, so much is lost. Look to Europe and see how a large population destroyed everything as it expanded. Europe generally does not have huge national parks because it can't and if parks exist, they are just designated areas where people are no longer allowed to build more houses. National Parks in Europe are rarely pristine. However, without good infrastructure, can people be convinced (other than the Amish) to live in places with an unreliable electrical grid (due to storms), spotty cell phone service, and perhaps no internet? Will people increasingly move away? In both cases, Jackson's Sawmill Bridge and its setting are in danger. The future of a nearby housing development or total abandonment both look possible. Perhaps in the future that covered bridge will be moved to a "museum-like" park closer to a population center for easier enjoyment. That has already happened to several bridges.
A place like in the photo exists only for a moment in time and we are lucky to catch it when we do. Stop for a moment and enjoy.