There is an extensive amount of history behind what we call Bloomington, IN. What most people don't remember is the farming of limestone and miles upon miles of corn rows that were so prevalent in many parts of Indiana during the 1700's to mid 1800's. As I look upon my site, the three biggest changes throughout history that I see are from open farm land, to the construction of Indiana University and then the settlement of Indiana University around my site today.
During the early years of Bloomington people made a living off of farming and limestone extraction. As I sit here and look at my site I can see the rows and rows and farm land, but not necessarily limestone remains. The area that I am working with is very flat and possibly housed a family of farmers at one point in time. Now, jumping to a few surrounding areas that display the signs of limestone such as hills and rocky grounds, my site may have been the left-hand neighbor of a limestone extraction facility. I don't believe that there were many trees on my site in the early years because the ones that are now remaining don't have large stumps or tall spines that look as though they could touch the sky. This also assures me that my area was used to farm things such as corn or soy beans.
Quickly jumping to the 1820's, I begin to see the slow construction of Indiana University. Since the early buildings were not built very close to my site, I don't think much really changed with the farming. Yet, after Indiana University became more established, farmers were pushed out of the land and areas such as my site were bought to aid the campus. The farmland was tilled up and ground was broken to build sorority houses such as Alpha Chi Omega and Zeta Tau Alpha. These two large structures cast a shadow on an area that once was full of life. Even if the farmers decided they wanted to keep the land, the construction of surrounding buildings would have put a damper on what they needed for proper farming.
As Indiana University thrived as a campus, the SRSC and married living buildings, as well as other staple buildings on campus, were constructed. My used-to-be-farming site grew into a grassy area students utilized and went to study or walk though to get where they were going. A site that used to stand on its own is now surrounded by student housing, workout centers and fraternities. Trees were planted outside of different structures to provide a sense of landscaping, and the nutrient-rich soil engrossed the new roots.
