Saying we care about Woodbury’s heritage while losing our city’s historical buildings is a paradox. We need our city to form a heritage preservation commission—or, put simply, a group of locally interested parties, advocates, historians and professionals to advise on preserving the history that remains after our shopping explosion.
Don’t get me wrong; I like shopping, and heritage doesn’t always need to stand in the way of progress. One historic site, the Miller Barn, showcases an enthusiastic partnership between the Woodbury Heritage Society (a group of community members not affiliated with the city) and the city of Woodbury, which will manifest itself in a blast from the past in a future city park. In the Miller Barn partnership, the city and the Heritage Society have proved reasonable, responsible and inclined to avoid restrictions on homeowners, inconveniences on neighbors, and deterioration of the Miller Barn historic site. The Heritage Society raised donations, and successfully lobbied for state money to preserve part of our state’s culture.
A new commission, part of city leadership, could review projects of note and make recommendations to the city council, to help us honor our past while celebrating our present and building our future.
Mathias Baden is a Realtor, a former editor of the Woodbury Bulletin, and a Woodbury Heritage Society member. If you have an idea for the next heritage column, call or text 612.327.1748.
