By Charles Rollins

Take a trip to your local Home Depot or any other chain store, and try to find the products made in America. Compare this to the pre-1960s homes that populate Cape May County. These homes were built from 100% American-made products and materials, many of which were produced in the Northeast.

 If someone has a porcelain sink or tub original to their home, it’s possible it was built in Trenton before manufacturing jobs were lost to companies overseas. See if you can buy a bathroom sink that was produced in South Jersey now, or any sink made anywhere in America. Not likely. People who own old homes--and people who buy salvaged materials from old homes--are being patriotic by supporting American-made designs, products, and labor.

Take something as common as the walls and ceilings in your home. A modern building is made with drywall. Drywall is cheap and quick and easy to put up. But it’s made in one of many factories that are owned by European multinational corporations. (Is it any surprise that “United States” Gypsum Corporation, the largest producer of drywall, is actually owned by a German corporation?) Every drywall board is exactly the same, and materials are sourced from wherever is needed to keep the price low; so if you were unfortunate enough to get drywall using raw materials from China, then you may even be facing toxic poisoning in your home due to contaminants.

 An older home most likely has lime plaster walls. The lime was quarried in Western New Jersey or Eastern Pennsylvania. The local materials were delivered to your home’s job site, mixed by a local craftsman, and applied by hand to build up your walls and ceilings.

Opponents of preservation will argue that tearing down our history and replacing our homes with new construction is “progress” and that the new construction creates jobs. They neglect to point out that renovating, restoring and maintaining existing homes create more jobs than demolition and new construction. So who’s defining what progress is, especially for Cape May County? 

The people of Cape May County have worked hard to establish a unique culture of classic American homes along with a large local business community that mostly rejects large corporate chains. An old home is a direct connection to the days when America had a manufacturing base, and local communities were thriving with good-paying jobs. When someone demolishes an old home, it is not just a building that is being removed. It is a statement that a hand-crafted home, built by a local skilled tradesman, full of materials manufactured and sourced from the local community, is not worth as much as a new building with materials sourced from faceless factories that will make overseas companies more wealthy. 

 Does being patriotic mean going back to a new construction condo full of materials and products made in China while eating a pre-made meal from a multinational corporation’s franchise that has no connection to South Jersey?

 Or is being patriotic about actually maintaining and preserving an old home, a home built from the ground up with American-made materials; choosing to support local small businesses with roots in South Jersey; and speaking out against elites who tell us that we have to lose our traditions in the name of progress?

This story is from our newsletter, Participate in Preservation. Read more by clicking here.

To join to our FREE email notification list, click here.