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National Trust Names the State Of Vermont One of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places

Washington, D.C. (May 24, 2004) – With historic villages and downtowns, working farms, winding back roads, forest-wrapped lakes, spectacular mountain vistas and a strong sense of community, Vermont has a special magic that led National Geographic Traveler magazine to name the state one of "the World's Greatest Destinations." Yet in recent years, this small slice of America has come under tremendous pressure from the onslaught of big-box retail development. The seriousness of this threat led the National Trust to name the state to its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 1993. Back then, Vermont was the only state without a Wal-Mart. Today it has four – and it now faces an invasion of behemoth stores that could destroy much of what makes Vermont Vermont.

To highlight the threat to this vital piece of America’s heritage, the National Trust for Historic Preservation today named the state of Vermont to its 2004 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

During the 1990s Wal-Mart located three of its four Vermont stores in existing buildings and kept them relatively modest in size. Now, however, the world’s largest company is planning to saturate the state – which has only 600,000 residents – with seven new mammoth mega-stores, each with a minimum of 150,000 square feet. Theses potential new stores may be located in St. Albans, Morrisville, Newport/Derby, St. Johnsbury, Bennington, Rutland, and Middlebury. Wal-Mart’s plans are sure to attract an influx of other big-box retailers. The likely result: degradation of the Green Mountain State’s unique sense of place, economic disinvestment in historic downtowns, loss of locally-owned businesses, and an erosion of the sense of community that seems an inevitable by-product of big-box sprawl. With deep regret, the National Trust takes the rare step of re-listing Vermont as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

“If they are built as proposed, these seven huge new stores will change the character of their communities and the state of Vermont,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust. “We’re not saying that communities shouldn’t allow big-box stores – but if they choose to do so, they should be aware of the consequences, including the possible impact on jobs, traffic, the environment and locally-owned businesses. New stores should complement existing businesses, not devour them – but there are communities all over America whose downtowns have been devastated by the arrival of big-box retailers. Vermonters shouldn’t let that happen in their state.”

In an upcoming "Save Our History" program, The History Channel will focus on two sites that were on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places and are now being restored. The program will air on Friday, September 3 at 8 pm. Beginning on May 24, 2004, The History Channel will also run a series of public service announcements that highlight the 2004 list. These spots will air beginning May 24.

History: Big-box development typically occurs on the outskirts of town, consuming farmland and open space, fueling sprawl and other problems associated with insensitive expansion. Communities often welcome these large stores in the hope that they will bring economic benefits. Too often, however, the stores bring hidden costs and cause significant economic and social harm.

Threat: The distinctive characteristics that define Vermont – historic towns, villages and rural landscapes – could be lost if sprawl-type development is allowed to occur in a haphazard, out-of-scale, land-consuming manner. The one-size-fits-all big-box “template” has proven to be detrimental to communities across the United States because of its negative economic and environmental impact on historic downtowns and local businesses. The size and design of these stores often overwhelm their surroundings, and impersonal corporate identity too often trumps community character.

Solution: The arrival of big-box sprawl often fostered by retailers such as Wal-Mart has been resisted by increasing numbers of communities that are determined to prevent or minimize the loss of their open space and the erosion of the economic vitality of their traditional business districts. People want and should have easy access to basic goods at low prices – but they also have the right to determine how their communities should grow and what they want to preserve and protect. At the very least, communities should accept big-box development with their eyes open and understand its long-term costs. Some big-box stores have adapted to local standards and worked to fit in gracefully with existing commercial districts. Some have even located in recycled vacant properties in existing downtowns. Vermonters should learn from what has happened elsewhere and persuade Wal-Mart and other large retailers to adapt the way they do business so as to enhance existing communities. Wal-Mart should change to accommodate Vermont, not the other way around.

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(Humour Disclaimer. I am joking)