Probably few people are aware of the connection between the Kannally Ranch at Oracle State Park and the Trail of Tears and a period in American history when health resorts came into existence. It was also a time when Americans could afford to pay for such health cures and it was possible to travel fairly easily and inexpensively.

The ranch and Curly Neal are stories of survival. Here in this one place we find the juxtaposition of the Kannally family who found a healthier way of life on land that was taken from another people.

Neal found hope, albeit not easily, after being shunned as a half-breed who was part African American and part Native American. His mother walked the Trail of Tears and did survive that ordeal. There is a lot more to the story than we have told.

It is perhaps ironic that the Friends of Oracle State Park were the first “Friends” group honored by Arizona. Then, the park was among the first to close.

Oracle, like most greenspace, is so much more than just the land and wildlife. Life took place there.

We can hope that eventually funding returns. We wish the Friends of Oracle State Park the best. The fact remains that the Kannally Ranch needs to eradicate the termites and bats.

But while OSP and countless other parks are closed, we need to be sure that we do not forget the lives that were spent on those greenspaces. In fact, when funding options do return, a strong argument for greenspace preservation is honoring our ancestors.

We are convinced that it is more difficult to close a park that has a well-documented continual human history. The history of Oracle State Park, like so many, is really the story of the American people – and a few others, as well.

The greenspace genealogy factor is the connection to the donor’s family. Not only does greenspace genealogy attract the donor’s relatives, but the donor’s life is endearing regardless of who they are.

Today we contacted a land trust to verify that the donor has been a force in the world of education and publishing. We suspected this was the case and were so touched that someone who had impacted so many other aspects of American life had donated this greenspace.

The publisher of Greenspace Genealogy emailed the contact listed on the greenspace’s website. Within 30 minutes, the person responsible for the land trust’s media responses replied with a disinterested, “I am sorry, but I can’t help you. I have no idea.”

It took considerable sleuthing but we finally did document that the donor was who we suspected. It seems ungracious not to make an effort to remember who donated land to greenspace.

It creates a precedent. If a property has been the responsibility of a land trust for 20 years and no one can even remember the name of the donor, it tells a lot about stewards.

There are reasons why people donate land. Land trusts know that. Land trusts discuss it. Environmentalists advocate it.

That reason is not really so elusive. We donate land because we love that land.

We don’t just love land. We love that particular piece of land. We donate land because we had positive experiences on that land.

Why would anyone donate land if their own history is going to be erased and no one will care why they were motivated to give their land instead of building condos on it?

If no one cares that  Peggy donated  her land to the foundation, does anyone care about my $50 donation? Or is it really just about the money?

We remember Civil War sites. We remember the Underground Railroad. We remember Native American sites. We remember life.

Greenspace genealogy is about remembering all lives, all generations. A donor is a part of the land they donated, forever. DOnors are a part of the history of that land. Donors lived, laughed, loved, worked and played there.

Put the sign up. Write the full history and write it accurately, based on documentable facts. The facts are more than identifying the butterflies and wildflowers. Remember the donor. Remember every footprint that ever crossed that property.

Remember to remember.

The academic definition is Environmental Psychology.

I borrowed this from Wikipedia: “In the words of Guido Francescato, speaking in 2000, environmental psychology encompasses a “somewhat bewildering array of disparate methodologies, conceptual orientations, and interpretations… making it difficult to delineate, with any degree of precision, just what the field is all about and what might it contribute to the construction of society and the unfolding of history.”

But, here, we call it Greenspace Genealogy and here we make things simple. We look at the history of everyone who lived, laughed, loved, worked and played on land that has been donated as a protected nature area.

That includes your neighborhood park. It includes neighbors parks and conservation easements. It may include buildings that once stood on the property — or may remain standing.

Our focus is on the greenspace and the history of who lived there. Every resident, from the beginning of time, has impacted the land where they lived out their lives. They may have only dug a garden, or they may have levelled a rain forest.

A million things motivate people to do what they do. That is history.

Leesylvania State Park

 Last Friday’s Greenspace Genealogy newsletter we visited Leesylvania and discovered that it has multiple family histories. We assume that all American land has two histories: the Native American history and the Eurasian settler history.

Compared to other countries, the United States is still young. But, we are not as young as we imagine.

The original settlers began arriving in the 1600’s. It took a couple hundred years for all of the United States to become what it is today. But, this country does have a very long history.

We are also a transient nation. There is a long-held myth that Americans lived and died at the same address, for generations.

In truth, Americans have always been on the move. The pioneers moved West, freed slaves moved to all parts of the country, and we remain on the move.

Many states have Centennial Farm programs, commemorating farms that have remained in the same family for a century. The programs were established because it is rare for a family farm to remain in the same family.

They are not environmental programs as much as they are historic preservation programs. The Wyoming Centennial Farm program is administered by the State Historic Preservation Office.

Leesylvania has had numerous owners. One family did own that property for 100 years before selling it outside the family.

Each owner left behind a piece of their family history. In the case of Daniel Ludwig, we see the impact of altering land. We also see environmental protection lessons learned along the way.

The plants, animals, and the soil itself are historically significant. But so are the former owners.

Honoring Our Ancestors

At best, we typically name a greenspace or a trail in honor of a donor. But, we often failed to intimately document and honor those who made the greenspace possible by giving the land where they and their family and friends lived, laughed, loved, worked and played.

Every greenspace is important. But, so are the former owners.

The Perpetuity Challenge

From time to time, greenspace is challenged and sometimes even destroyed. Intellectually, protectors of greenspace defend the property by documenting flora, fauna, and wildlife.

Documenting the people who left their footprints on a greenspace increases the value by endearing the land. Combining the history of virgin prairie or rare moths with a donor’s family history is a powerful thing.

That is greenspace genealogy.

An estate implies a residential property. So what does that have to do with greenspace?

A lot, no pun intended. Well, okay, maybe I do intend it.

Large estates tend to have large houses. They also tend to have acres and acres of greenspace. When family estates are preserved, so is greenspace.

Imagine how many little houses and driveways and sidewalks and streets you could crowd into 28 acres. That’s the size of the lawn at Wave Hill on the Hudson River.

And this lawn includes nature trails and gardens used to teach horticulture.

Wave Hill is now known as the Wave Hill Center for Environmental Studies. It is another example of donated greenspace.

That is certainly fitting since George Perkins was one of the former owners. A conservations, he was instrumental in saving other greenspace from destruction.

The family gave the property to the City of New York along with a $500,000 gift. Scientists from the City University Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Science organized educational opportunities onsite.

The footprint of the house is still quite large. But, instead of a single family living there, thousands of visitors attend lectures, workshops, films, and guided walks every year.

That is greenspace genealogy.

There are people who donate land, money, time, and sweat equity for just that reason.

So what is different about Greenspace Genealogy?

Possibly the largest challenge a protection group faces is the largest in size: acreage.

It takes a village to manage a site.

But, it takes a very special person to donate land.

How Do You Encourage Bequeaths?

Every land trust development director devotes every day to this question.

Signs are erected. Dinners are held. Annual reports are published.

Yet, the next day, the question remains the same. How?

The Secret

The Greenspace Genealogy technique focuses on the history of those who lived, worked, and played on a specific place.

So far, we are focusing on planet Earth but, as soon as the first outer space park appears, we’ll be there, too.

History involves time, place, and people.

In the world of environmental issues, the term “footprint” is frequently used. We talk about carbon footprint. We talk about animal footprints. We talk about footprint in terms of the number of square feet a building occupies.

At Greenspace Genealogy we document who left all those footprints on a given greenspace.

A “weedpatch” in Shelby County, Illinois, doesn’t sound like much. It becomes more treasured when we learn it was the former home to a Polish immigrant whose family worked in the nearby coal mines.

It means more when we learn that the soil is Drummer loess, the official soil of Illinois. Most Illinois residents aren’t aware that Illinois has a state soil. It is that soil that inspired John Deere to invent the self-cleaning plow.

Services

The Greenspace Genealogy newsletter is just one of our services.

We also research the history of the people and events related to a greenspace.

This research is available as GEDCOM database files for the genealogist.

We also create histories for greenspace projects. We connect the public and the donor with the significance of a greenspace, placing it squarely in conjunction with historic events involving those whose footprints were left behind.

Contact us if you would a genealogical and greenspace history honoring a donor.

It surprises me when anyone says that my worldview is a bit large.

We all live on the same planet.
We all inherit the same history.
We are all essentially members of the same family.
Each one of us has a history.

History occurs on land.
Or on land surrounded by specific bodies of water.
Even the history of outer space is couched within the framework of land. And humans.

All history is defined by land and people.

That is Greenspace Genealogy.

Last Friday, I wrote about the connection between the Stamp Act, the sugar industry, sustainable farming, and the Bayard Cutting Arboretum on Long Island, New York.

My task is to make these connections in just a few paragraphs.
The concept is so very simple.

We all have family history.
We all live, work and play on land — or in and on water surrounded by land.

History involves people.
History involves land.

Once we are aware of the history that took place on a specific piece of land, or on a body of water or in outer space, we view that GPS location differently.

We have a different perspective on that pond.
We have a different respect for those acres.

This Friday, we visit Leesylvania in Virginia.

Come with me while I connect the dots between rain forest destruction and both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and redemption.

Subscribe before Friday, February 12.

Ongoing support is an important factor in protecting donating land. Financial support is always critical. Greenspace requires maintenance, especially if there is trail maintenance and vehicle access required. There is the cost of controlled burns, vehicular access as basic as a trailhead parking lot, and signage expense. 

Beardsley, like many donors, hired a professional to restore his family’s land to its natural state after it had been farmed. It is naïve to believe a natural area will simply be natural. There are invasives ranging from non-native plants to outdoor enthusiasts on four-wheelers, all of which can damage the greenspace. 

Beardsley’s gift involved a commitment by the City of Bridgeport to supply a specific amount of financial support to maintain the park. There never seems to be enough funding for any greenspace. 

Successful projects almost always rely on volunteer supporters who are willing to collect native plant seed, conduct informational hikes, work on the site newsletter, and raise money to keep the site in pristine condition. 

Over the years, volunteers traced the Beardsley family’s connection to that land and how they and the property fit into the history of the United States from the original Pequannock tribes who lived in the area, through the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, all the way to Beardsley Park today. The Walker Hill part of the park represents another family connection. 

Land doesn’t just happen. It evolves over time. 

Land ownership doesn’t just happen. There are property ownership laws, historic migrations, and family histories connected to every square millimeter of land in this country. 

Everyone has family. We all live through historic times. Some families have land. When they donate that land, it carries with it the history of a family as well as the history of our country. 

That is Greenspace Genealogy. 

View upcoming topics online at the Greenspace Genealogy Editorial Calendar. 

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