In a classic sprawl case of “farm vs. harm”, the world’s largest retailer wants to destroy an historic 18th. century farm property ironically known as “Good Luck Farm” in Lacey, New Jersey, a community which already has its row to hoe with a Home Depot trying to plow its way into town. Wal-Mart wants to erect a roughly 157,000 s.f. supercenter , plus a bank and restaurant on the Route 9 property. According to an account in the Asbury Park Press, the Good Luck Farm is known locally as the place with a flock of sheep grazing and a model train attraction ride for children. The clapboard farmhouse dates back almost to the founding of this nation, with settlement records from 1789. The township Historical Society told the newspaper they would be sad to see the old home go. More than two decades ago, the county’s Historical Society selected the so-called Van Arsdale house for the National Register of Historic Places. Now Wal-Mart wants to beat the plowshares into sprawl.
This is not the first such property Wal-Mart has tried to raze, nor will it be the last. I helped residents in Virginia save Ferry Farm from sprawl, which was the boyhood home of George Washington. At the time, all that was left of the site was a foundation, but it had enormous historical value, none of which you can compute on a Wal-Mart balance sheet. Wal-Mart never built on Ferry Farm, they were pushed to another location, and hope is that Wal-Mart’s Good Luck will run out as they seek to remove the Good Luck farm in Lacey. For local contacts, email [email protected]. For more background on Lacey’s bad luck simultaneous fight with Home Depot, search this page by “Lacey”.
