USGS aerials from 1965 and 2005, side x side. by Anne Rowland

I have made a lot of GigaPans-- landscapes, trees, fencerows, underbrush-- in Bluemont, VA, about 45 miles west of Washington, D.C. Bluemont used to be just a little village and a lot of farmland. Now speculative subdivison development encroaches on that farmland.

On the left, in black and white, is an image comprised of several USGS aerials made over Bluemont from March/April 1965 that I have combined together. On the right is a USGS aerial, in color, from 2005 of the same area. I have placed red dots next to houses on each image. There are also lots of outbuildings; these are horse barns, equipment storage barns and sheds, feed storage buildings, and the like. By my count, in 1965 there were 22 houses, and in 2005 there were 96.