Above: “Lakeside houses in Idaho.” (Pilgeram 2021)
“Zoned for agricultural use, the mill site was privately held land. But it was privately held land that for generations had been used by residents of Dover. The mill owners had allowed them to build a baseball diamond, where the Dover River Rats team hosted games. Scores of young mothers had carted children to the beach to learn to swim, one of the last undeveloped natural sandy beaches on the lake. Most of the residents of Dover had never had lakefront views, but they had always had quick access to the lake for swimming, picnicking, fishing, and relaxing. The mill workers’ homes were built in tidy rows a mile from the mill, sitting far back from the water to ensure they didn’t flood in the days before a dam was built downriver.
In 2004, the Dover City Council voted 3 – 1 to approve a 600-unit upscale development, forever altering their community and transitioning the once-bustling lumber mill town into a destination for retirees and outdoor enthusiasts. The development branded itself “Mill Lake” (a pseudonym) and included plenty of opportunities for recreation for those with money. There’s a huge marina that juts into the lake, where people can dock their boats or even their floatplanes. Helicopter parking is, of course, also available. There is a restaurant and a fitness club with a pool. There are fountains and statues. There’s even a branded, oversized Adirondack chair where visitors are encouraged to pose with all their friends and then share on social media how carefree Mill Lake has made them.”
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“Mill Lake is a simulacrum for an American West that never existed. It features reproductions of old-timey street lamps that line the tree-edged boulevard into Mill Lake. There are no streetlights at all in old Dover.
What happened in Dover is a common story in communities across the American West, especially in those “lucky” enough to be situated against scenic landscapes, ripe for tourism and outdoor recreation. As extractive industries such as timber, mining, or agriculture faltered in an era of automation and globalization, the dwindling remnants of communities that had relied on those industries were “saved” by new developments promising more people and the return of steady employment. Sitting on the edge of a river ringed by mountains in every direction, with bald eagles nesting on the riverbank, Dover was a prime target for developers who might have peppered the shore with megamansions or gated off the land to the whole community. Now the material extracted from the region is the cheap labor of those left behind to staff the restaurants, marinas, ski lifts, and coffee shops.”
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“The city council’s decision to approve the development and the long history leading up to that decision serve as an illustrative case study of change in rural communities. One of the ways scholars have understood this change is through the lens of what has been termed “rural gentrification,” or the in-migration of more affluent urban and suburban populations into rural areas, drawn there by the charm of rural communities, the scenic beauty of rural spaces, and the lower cost of living.
While some rural communities are losing population and suffer from chronic poverty, others have become popular destinations for in-migrants, thanks to the economic opportunities of the energy boom or the draw of rural lifestyles. This “amenity migration” draws new residents to the scenic beauty of the areas. As part of this amenity migration, new arrivals bring with them cultural and economic power that outweighs that of current residents, which often radically alters the communities these amenity migrants move to.”
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“But for many communities in the Rocky Mountains, the relationship between population and jobs is fraught. This transition does not necessarily mean the kinds of stable career opportunities that extractive industries created in the recent past. An influx of people, drawn by the scenic beauty, may well create jobs in their new communities, but most often these are low-paying service-sector jobs, while at the same time, the cost of living, particularly in housing, often rapidly increases. So while new populations — whether temporary or permanent — increase the overall population, good-paying, stable jobs might still leave these towns.”
…
“Dover is the story of the rural West, where survival for working-class people once meant logging or agriculture and now means building homes or waiting tables and being grateful that you have a house to build or table to wait on because it means your community is still there.”
I feel like I often see tourism discussed in a positive light for the economic opportunity it provides. I’ve always been skeptical of the industry, primarily just because I personally hate feeling like a tourist whenever I travel. There’s also something to be said about being on vacation somewhere and receiving services from people who probably don’t get paid enough and can barely afford the cost of living that is likely on the rise due to the influx of tourism. The industry promises a bright future of “economic opportunity”, and in this blindingly positive outlook, details specifying who actually benefits in these situations seem to get lost.
Pilgeram identifies one downside to tourism is its inauthentic portrayal of historical charm, the street lights of Mill Lake being one example. I’d guess that historical inaccuracies are both a result and contributor to generalizations of rural life. In addition, historical preservation can almost feel like a prop or set maintained for entertainment value as opposed to an act done in consideration of residents’ ties to the land.
Lastly, tourism takes away from local residents’ ability to access their own natural landscapes. This might be through physical barriers, such as the privatization of land as lodging development claims scenic locations, or sheer traffic detering locals from taking part in recreational activities.
Many of the projects that Ohio state parks are working on are tourist based lodging and amenities. ODNR’s concern is the amount of waste these new additions and visiting tourists will produce. Do local residents of Ohio’s state parks feel any apprehension towards the growing tourism?
Ryanne Pilgeram. (2021). Pushed Out. University of Washington Press. https://inthesetimes.com/article/gentrification-of-the-rural-west
