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Old 11-30-2015, 09:08 AM
 
Location: Texas
2,394 posts, read 4,065,314 times
Reputation: 1411

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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
You must remember that our cities were not so great to live in back at the end of World War II. Many people lived in very small cold water flats and shared bathrooms with other families. Those wonderful neighborhoods that are so romanticized in television and movies these days were dangerous, noisy and polluted. Not the best environment for raising a family. The great suburbanization of the country allowed families who otherwise had nothing to become homeowners for the first time. That was very important to developing a large strong middle class. Without the country would not be what it is today. Jay
I once worked with some men who lived in tiny row houses in Philadelphia growing up in the 1930s or early 40s who ended up fighting in WW2. A number of them told me that when they returned home the old neighborhood just had no attraction for them any more. What I think was that their horizons expanded in ways that let them take bigger risks and seize new opportunities (like the GI bill) to better themselves economically. Part of the motivation for that was to move to a home that was far more visually attractive to them than where they came from. Almost all those homes were in the suburbs.
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Old 11-30-2015, 10:11 AM
 
Location: Near the Coast SWCT
83,310 posts, read 74,613,640 times
Reputation: 16524
Thanks for the old map reminder. Always knew Cows grazed where my house sits (on a little hill) but nice to see the area on the Satellite map. Cool to see it was once farmland, open, with a farmhouse down the road.

The Trees around here aren't more than 50 yrs old. Only a few so when they built this neighborhood they must of planted a ton of trees and of course let nature take its course as well.
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Old 11-30-2015, 10:28 AM
 
6,462 posts, read 4,863,932 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cambium View Post
Thanks for the old map reminder. Always knew Cows grazed where my house sits (on a little hill) but nice to see the area on the Satellite map. Cool to see it was once farmland, open, with a farmhouse down the road.

The Trees around here aren't more than 50 yrs old. Only a few so when they built this neighborhood they must of planted a ton of trees and of course let nature take its course as well.
There were 3 huge tobacco barns right behind my house! My house also had 2 large trees in front of it, you can barely see the roof in the overhead image. One of the trees was cut down between the mid-80s and 1990 when I purchased it. I believe the other one was gone long before that. I'll have to look up my old inventory sheet again.

Funny thing is that there are very few trees showing across the street in the 1934 pic - they still have a number of those trees and that image is now proof they aren't as old as my neighbor believes lol
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Old 11-30-2015, 10:39 AM
 
Location: Near the Coast SWCT
83,310 posts, read 74,613,640 times
Reputation: 16524
Quote:
Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo View Post
There were 3 huge tobacco barns right behind my house! My house also had 2 large trees in front of it, you can barely see the roof in the overhead image. One of the trees was cut down between the mid-80s and 1990 when I purchased it. I believe the other one was gone long before that. I'll have to look up my old inventory sheet again.

Funny thing is that there are very few trees showing across the street in the 1934 pic - they still have a number of those trees and that image is now proof they aren't as old as my neighbor believes lol
Very Cool! I love barns and farms. Part of me wishes that's what is around here but I know I have to travel hours north to actually get it now. My sister has Sheep on a field next to her backyard. She's in farmland country with no congestion SE of Buffalo.

Funny thing about trees.. When I drive around I always wonder that. I mean I don't see as many young trees as I do mature and the mature ones aren't older than 60yrs old.

So either
1. Trees really only started taking off after the 1950s
2. Young trees in dense areas aren't making it nowadays with weather stress and the mature tree canopies blocking their sunlight.

I mean before it was farmland, wasn't it a forest? Maybe not. So maybe trees are more abundant now because we're letting them be?
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Old 11-30-2015, 12:41 PM
 
453 posts, read 525,539 times
Reputation: 287
historicaerials.com is a fun site to use!

For me, it is really interesting to compare the Naugatuck Valley before and after the Flood of 55, and then, the construction of Route 8. The other area I spent time on was how Manchester/Vernon has changed just since 1990 since I did not grow up around here.

If you're a map geek you can spend hours and hours on this site.
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Old 11-30-2015, 01:04 PM
 
6,462 posts, read 4,863,932 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cambium View Post
Very Cool! I love barns and farms. Part of me wishes that's what is around here but I know I have to travel hours north to actually get it now. My sister has Sheep on a field next to her backyard. She's in farmland country with no congestion SE of Buffalo.

Funny thing about trees.. When I drive around I always wonder that. I mean I don't see as many young trees as I do mature and the mature ones aren't older than 60yrs old.

So either
1. Trees really only started taking off after the 1950s
2. Young trees in dense areas aren't making it nowadays with weather stress and the mature tree canopies blocking their sunlight.

I mean before it was farmland, wasn't it a forest? Maybe not. So maybe trees are more abundant now because we're letting them be?
Most of our forests are newer. The land was clear cut for farming way back when. I'm sure I can find a source when back at a keyboard.
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Old 11-30-2015, 01:12 PM
 
2,695 posts, read 3,460,162 times
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Does anyone know of a place that has old maps I can view? I went to my towns historical society and library but could not find anything. I want to get a map from the mid 1800's that shows my house when it was originally built.
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Old 11-30-2015, 06:02 PM
 
6,462 posts, read 4,863,932 times
Reputation: 7881
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr_250 View Post
Does anyone know of a place that has old maps I can view? I went to my towns historical society and library but could not find anything. I want to get a map from the mid 1800's that shows my house when it was originally built.
What town are you in? Many towns have had books written about them over the years. But most maps will just have streets, not housing detail.

My house was built in 1926 and I haven't even been able to find the builder info. I'd love to as the POs sided it, and I'd love to know what my front door area looked like without all that crap!
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Old 11-30-2015, 08:52 PM
 
2,668 posts, read 4,465,415 times
Reputation: 1996
No 1934 image but 1990 shows my home not there and the lot still all woods, some of the street is developed though.
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Old 12-07-2015, 07:36 AM
 
6,462 posts, read 4,863,932 times
Reputation: 7881
Thanks to the OP for these links! Last week I was able to find my house in the 1934 overhead maps. It unfortunately looks like it has 2 large trees in the front yard so all I can see is a piece of the roof. But I can see there wasn't a garage yet which proves what the original owners kids told me as fact (garage was built in the 30s).

Even more interesting, I was searching for info on a house in Glastonbury and came across another site by the CT Library. There I found an early 1900s photo of the house down the street where my property was split off off. I had known it came from one of the old houses, but didn't know which one.

THEN I found photos of the 1938 hurricane damage. I had known my house was affected by 2 storms in the 30s and I managed to find my end of town with my house again... but those damn trees lol
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