ABSTRACT
In the book Expedition Nine: Return to a Region, the great regional planner and founder of the Appalachian Trail, Benton Mackaye, pondered the culture of good place-making that founded Shirley Center, Massachusetts, in 1753, the hamlet where he grew up and spent much of his life:
The committee made its report and recommendations (their “town plan”). The cornerstone would be the Meetinghouse (the “sacred tree” that went with the moot-hill). On one side would be the Churchyard, dedicated to eternity. On the other side the Common, devoted to posterity. Around this would be “clustered,” besides the homesteads and the Town Hall, the Meetinghouse, Schoolhouse and Country Store. They would make the “five senses” that constitute a complete rural community: home, government, religion, education, and commerce.1
