This photograph of Maple Avenue was taken about 1905. Ten years earlier, in 1895, Norfolk
residents voted on the appropriation of $500 for road improvement. Yet Maple Avenue remained
a dirt road, muddy in the spring, dusty in the summer. The paving of roads was one issue of
public interest that sparked heated debate, reflecting the divisive perception that the community
no longer shared a common set of values. At a town meeting, summer resident Michael Pupin
argued that paved roads would advance the prosperity of the town. His argument was met with
silence. Then one resident spoke: “Our roads are just as good as they ever were; our ancestors
taught us how to take care of them, and they are good enough for us.” Landscape historian J.B.
Jackson described the road as a very powerful space: “There has always been and probably
always will be a widespread distrust among average men and women of all roads which come
from the outside world, bringing strangers and strange ideas.” In the early 20th century,
community relations were tested in Norfolk as the paved road represented change.

-Ann Havemeyer