Kimmeytown Revisted (some background )

For anyone who isn’t familiar with Kimmeytown it was a town inside a town – great architecture for the well offs – the less affluent lived in little country bungalows but no matter the financial status almost every home in Kimmeytown had a front porch.  General stores were built on nearly every corner and Kimmeytown prospered.

Now let’s fast forward to take a look at what happened to this thriving community with its special pride and culture.  With the advent of the trucking industry and super highways in the 40’s and 50’s the railroad fell on hard times.   Kimmeytown’s demise was as simple as its beginning.

As industry and the railroads died out community pride also failed.  Many houses became vacant as industry workers searched for jobs elsewhere.  Even the number of once prideful railroad employees also began to decline and with that decline went the special care and attention given the old Victorians with their dormers and gables.  The old general stores and millenary shops began to disappear and deterioration set in at an accelerated pace.

In the early nineteen nineties history began to repeat itself.  The area was about to come to life again, only this time it wasn’t local families leaving the farm in search of a better job. This time it was the poorest of the poor who didn’t speak the language and were willing to live anywhere there was a bit of shelter – they did have one thing in common with the farm workers of the 1880’s – they were willing to work.  In the 1980’s and 1990’s most all small towns had very serious problems but with the almost overnite influx of immigrants settling in Kimmeytown, Georgetown had more than its share.  In 1993 Historic Georgetown Association was born to make a determined effort to help the town resolve some of those problems.

The next eleven of those years the conditions in Kimmeytown were always high on our agenda while appearances, of necessity, played a more minor role.  We wrote and worked to pass ordinances that we believe saved lives in Kimmeytown – we twisted arms and raised sufficient money to fund code inspectors that we believe saved lives in Kimmeytown – we worked closely with the town, the county, Sister Margaret’s LaCasita – Gonzolo Martinez legal group, the Governors, the Churches, Community Action, and all the many groups working to make life easier for the immigrants. 

Later, to show we also cared about appearances, we bought and restored the “Satterfield House” on E. Market Street but this admittedly was mostly window dressing – our agenda remained far too varied and ambitious to take on a full blown revitalization of Kimmeytown at that time.  

In 1996 we purchased the train station which we planned to utilize as a catalyst to encourage others to come on board with major Kimmeytown efforts.  The response was no response.  Just purchasing the train station did little to prove we could make the proverbial silk purse.

Six tough years later the highly successful train station restoration was completed (built and paid off) and its transformation to a community project did what we expected.  It drew people into a part of town which they had ignored for years.  Few liked what they saw – most agreed something needed to be done now.  In July of 2003, we finally got down to business.

We hired a consultant, put together a plan and kicked off our “Kimmeytown Revisited” revitalization efforts in August of 2004 with over 150 in attendance at the train station including the Governor, Secretary of State and most Sussex County representatives in attendance.  We were finally on our way and progress continues on a daily basis.  

KIMMEYTOWN REVISITED UPDATE:

†HGA’s remarkable train station has been and remains the focal point for all our Kimmeytown efforts. The improvements made on the properties directly adjacent to the Train Station have come as a direct result of its restoration.

†A major aim of the “plan” is to encourage active participation by both “for profits” and “non profits”. 

†We are working with a local non-profit  in an effort to get 16 townhomes built.  Efforts are presently in motion to add other acreage to the project. 

†Non-profit HGA has recently purchased and is preparing to restore the old Calhoun Store and Academy Annex on Cedar Street.  A major grant has already been obtained to help with the restorations. 

†To date “for profits” have purchased:

a.  three dwellings on E. Market Street

b.  One dwelling just off E. Market Street

c.  Adjoining open acreage on Cooper Alley

d.  Open acreage for townhomes on E. Laurel St.

e.   Four building lots on Rosa St.

f.    A boarded up dwelling on Cedar Street

g.    And in addition to these eleven properties (offers have been made on other E. Market Street properties.

h.    Four new Kimmeytown style homes are presently under construction on Rosa Street.

i.     Bids are out on restoring the boarded up dwelling on Cedar Street.

j.     Plans are being readied and funds being acquired to begin a major restoration/new construction project on E. Market Street.

Some scenes from the Kimmeytown Revisited Kickoff