Taborville: A Cultural Landscape Survey

The Community Hall at Taborville

Taborville is a rather secluded town located in Geauga County, Ohio, and known for its influence in the Czech culture of Northeast Ohio. The small village contains eight streets, which are lined sporadically by homes, the DTJ Community Center, and a playground set back off one of the streets. As a village, Taborville is very quiet, but lively; one of the two visits to Taborville resulted in a downpour of rain, yet I witnessed at least four residents biking in the streets. The residents seem to be close knit as well, not as detached from neighbors as you would find in a regular suburb. In saying this, Taborville is mostly a residential community, except for the DTJ Center.

Of the eight streets, I focused on one in particular, North Boulevard. The street isn’t more than a half of a mile and consists completely of homes. The homes all have large yards and there are also large pockets of wooded areas along the street. There were also rows and rows of large trees along the street. Upon observation it seems there is more open space compared to the built environment. Not one home looks identical, but they are mostly of the same styling and build date (1930-50), some being more recent builds. Along North Blvd., there are about twenty homes, some one-story ranches, some two-story, some well groomed, others shabby and unimpressive. All in all, there isn’t much coherence in form among the built environment.

 

All the streets in Taborville are narrow, while wide enough to fit one mid-size car, it would prove difficult to have two pass along side each other. The streets are paved, though bumpy, and show signs of patchwork. The entire community doesn’t have sidewalks, but the residents seem to use the roads as their walks, and bike paths, as there isn’t much vehicle traffic except for when the residents use it. The DTJ Center causes some vehicle traffic as well, but car traffic is regulated quite firmly by the large signs as one enters the village, asking vehicles to keep to a fifteen mile per hour limit to keep their residents safe.

 

Along North Blvd. the homes are close enough together to make a neighbor feel safe and not isolated, but also retain their privacy. There wasn’t much thought into the organization of the community, at least for the residences. It’s noticeable that it was not arranged or designed by a development company. It seems that the original owners built upon the land, adhering only to their own tastes and needs. Some of the homes were built farther back from the street; others were less than twenty feet. None of the homes were out of proportion to its surroundings. Each house was no more than a single family dwelling, which created a family-oriented character. A lot of the homes had children’s toys strewn along the front lawn, as well as basketball hoops at the end of driveways adding to this image.

 

The village of Taborville is a rarity today, with the countless housing developments and identical suburban housing that we as a society are so used to seeing today. This small village has been able to avoid the bombardment of commercialization and main highways, and continues to focus on the home and community. Although it seems that some of the housing has changed since Taborville was first settled, the values of the community have not.

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Posted in Class field trips, Taborville in Geauga County