[Source: Erin Zlomek, Business Gazette] -- James Truman wistfully watched developers tear down a 1930s-era cotton gin across from his family's citrus farm in Waddell this summer. In place, there are plans for 7,200 houses and a Westcor regional shopping mall, all part of Surprise's huge Prasada development. Truman recalls at least two other West Valley cotton gins swallowed by development in the recent past. He hopes his farm, a 160-acre citrus grove surrounding antique barns and a paint-peeled house built in the 1940s, isn't next. Like many local history buffs, Truman worries that the torrid pace of development on the Valley's fringes will plow under all evidence of the area's agricultural roots, leaving behind few signs of the Western lifestyle and charm that once defined Arizona. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Panel slow in acting on Registry of historic farms
[Source: Erin Zlomek, Business Gazette] -- James Truman wistfully watched developers tear down a 1930s-era cotton gin across from his family's citrus farm in Waddell this summer. In place, there are plans for 7,200 houses and a Westcor regional shopping mall, all part of Surprise's huge Prasada development. Truman recalls at least two other West Valley cotton gins swallowed by development in the recent past. He hopes his farm, a 160-acre citrus grove surrounding antique barns and a paint-peeled house built in the 1940s, isn't next. Like many local history buffs, Truman worries that the torrid pace of development on the Valley's fringes will plow under all evidence of the area's agricultural roots, leaving behind few signs of the Western lifestyle and charm that once defined Arizona. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
