[HN Gopher] The Art of Digging a Buried Building Out of Maine's ...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       The Art of Digging a Buried Building Out of Maine's Desert Dunes
       (2020)
        
       Author : Caiero
       Score  : 30 points
       Date   : 2022-11-14 05:07 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
        
       | Maursault wrote:
       | "The land that encompasses the Desert of Maine was purchased by
       | the Tuttle family in 1821... the Tuttles' methods of farming
       | gradually depleted the soil of essential nutrients. Combined with
       | overgrazing by large numbers of sheep, the widespread erosion of
       | the Tuttles' topsoil exposed a deposit of glacial sand that was
       | lying underneath. The initially exposed small patch of sand
       | gradually spread and overtook the entire farm. The Tuttles
       | abandoned the land in 1890... The farmhouse burned down in 1919.
       | In 1926, Henry Goldrup purchased the land for $400 ($7.50/acre),
       | and converted it to a tourist attraction... The site is preserved
       | as a natural curiosity...."[1]
       | 
       | Though I object to the use of the word "natural," here (about as
       | "natural" as the Centrailia mine fire[2]), I gotta hand it to
       | Goldrup for turning an ecological catastrophe into income.
       | 
       | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_of_Maine
       | 
       | [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia_mine_fire
        
       | LeifCarrotson wrote:
       | There's a similar buried house - plus one being buried even
       | today! - at the sand dunes in Silver Lake, MI:
       | 
       | https://goo.gl/maps/UifbQYHzvbATyXTi9
       | 
       | For a while, the owners of the still-visible house had a giant
       | wheel loader that they were using to remove the onslaught of sand
       | and sell it by the truckload until the township put a stop to the
       | commercial use of the property; they weren't licensed to operate
       | as a gravel pit, and there's no licensure process for the
       | opposite of a pit. I believe there's an additional home to the
       | northwest which is completely buried by sand, and can attest that
       | in the 15 years I've been going with my wife's family that the
       | climb up from the culdesac has gotten steeper, and the culdesac
       | is slowly disappearing beneath the sand.
       | 
       | Meanwhile, the famous dunes at the Off-Road Vehicle area have
       | gotten shorter, from 18th Ave south of the lake it used to be
       | impossible to see Lake Michigan.
        
       | adamredwoods wrote:
       | Offtopic: The Oregon sand dunes are amazing! I recommend hiking
       | rather than taking the buggies.
       | 
       | https://www.google.com/maps/place//@43.5823425,-124.2545843,...
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2022-11-15 23:01 UTC)