David smith is turning in his grave. The house he lived in back in the late 1700’s has been demolished. I stopped by to witness the event. A huge excavator and its operator raised the scoop and jaws to take bites out of a wall. I was listening to demolition. The shovel pushed down the portico and two pillars rolled to the ground. The shovel bashed through walls, clawed at the roof, while three hands held hoses to wet down dust. I listened to wood being crushed with crackling sounds and loud metallic bangs and squeals of the bucket and its jaw. The crowd heard the beeps as the machine backed up, the clank of the two huge iron treadmill wheels. Two huge dumpsters stood by waiting for the splinters of almost 250 year old house.

The house heard cows, chickens, and other livestock on the 200 acre farm of David Smith. The house that was history is no more. In its footprint, another 21’st century house awaits. While I took pictures, the foreman of the demo company commented to me.”I get all kinds of comments when we demo a house like this. You can’t save a house that is uninhabitable.” He gave me a cold bottle of water and he continued to supervise.