Page 30 - JOAMay2021

Traveling Back in Time
The purpose of Here’s New England in all of
this was to give middle-class Americans a
chance to ‘discover’ pieces of the nation’s
history in the small towns they passed through,
with over seventy references to historic houses
and museums. Facilitating this process were
recently posted historic markers along roads
which drew attention to local spots of
importance, bringing awareness to drivers that
the routes they were traveling could connect
them to a larger national heritage. Yet Here’s
New England, with its declarative and assertive
title, was also notable for what it did not
include for curious travelers. Despite the liberal
agenda of the New Deal, this guidebook
omitted any mention of African Americans,
despite the long history of enslavement and
abolition in the region. Similarly, the book
ignored the continued presence of Native
people in each state and instead leaned into the
false mythology of the “vanishing Indian.”
Instead, the guidebook celebrated the
achievements of New England’s white,
Anglo-American colonists and their descendants,
figuratively gentrifying the region’s history for Narragansett Bay text and map
the enjoyment of tourists.
Here’s New England described the overall Shades and Shrines. The text stated: “The South Shore supports itself in diverse ways, but one
experience of travel through the region as going thing its people have in common–the contented knowledge that they tread on hallowed ground,
back in time. The further north you went, the walking literally in the steps of their forefathers. They live in a region to which the rest of the
more “antique” the landscape and towns nation makes its patriotic pilgrimage.” The “antique” designation for different New England
became. The driver became a picker, choosing towns extended even to their denizens, especially in states like New Hampshire, Vermont, and
the best and most visually pleasing towns for Maine. For tourists, the occupants of these states were themselves an attraction, a phenomenon
their route. A traveler could pass through which lent itself to several humorous plays about rural Yankees encountering city slickers.
Guilford, Connecticut, “where there are
preserved a larger number of authentic old The Back-Roads
houses than you’ll find in any New England The “back-road” also played an interesting role in
town” or Gloucester, Massachusetts, “one these guidebooks. Drivers certainly wanted to see these
American city where tradition has continued old roads as they journeyed through Vermont, but they
for three centuries.” The sacralization of didn’t necessarily want to be driving on them. The
American sites of historic importance was newly developed highway routes had standardized
grasped by the entry to Plymouth and the navigational geography, allowing for a sense of driver
South Shore, which was subtitled Pilgrim
primacy, and situating those who drove as modern and
progressive. At the same time, there was already a
romantic nostalgia for the literal road less traveled.
Here’s New England mediated this process by curating
a visual experience for the car’s occupants. For
example, rustic covered bridges became part of the
“Vermont experience,” even though most were
uncrossable; instead, they stood as proud icons of
traditional craftsmanship and local history.
While the rise of recreational winter sports certainly
had a hand in attracting visitors to New England, one
anonymous author from Here’s New England
summarized the real motivation for travelers: “A good
many Americans turn, disillusioned, away from the
future that wasn’t so near as they thought and perhaps
was going to be very different from what they hoped, Sandwich Glass
back towards the past still jogging with slow steadiness
on its horse-and-buggy back-road way.” While one could not remain in Vacationland
indefinitely, the Guide’s multiple routes, adventures, and itineraries allowed for New England
to be viewed as a place of patriotic rejuvenation and a reminder of fundamental American values
(as understood in the 1930s).
Although the Federal Writers’ Project dissolved in 1943, the popular American Guide Series
continued to be reprinted long after. Yet, Here’s New England remains very much an artifact of
its time, published to help citizens rekindle their love for America through interaction with
historic house homes, lush landscapes, and quaint small towns. By approaching New England
as a site of pilgrimage, readers could frame their vacations as an act of civic obligation, making
automobiles and owning automobiles an indispensable aspect of true citizenship. Tourism
linked these points together, stimulating local economies while projecting an image of the
Photo of The Old Stone Shop, Wallingford Vermont nation’s history that was enlightening, entertaining, and achievable. All you had to do was get
in your car and go.
28 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles