Stories like this one really make my blood boil. Many of the communities that are letting their heritage go bye-bye depend on tourism. Tourists don't come to see the new, just-like-everything-else condos--they come to see the history and heritage.
Just ran into an old friend at breakfast---very serious preservationist who was responsible for our NHR status.
The plantation house, which I've mentioned before, was the home of a family that was the subject of a Eugenia Price trilogy (this house is on the cover of the last book she wrote before she died.)
One story of the house was that during the Civil War, when the Yankees took over the house to use it as a hospital, the family hung out their British flag (The father was from England...how they got together is a fascinating story...) in hopes that it would get them some sympathy from the Yankees. It didn't work. The woman who sold the house to the developer still had the flag; it was framed and has been featured in several books. She was very proud of it.
The friend said that they went to meet with the developer to see what he was going to do with the house. (She is head of our group that tried to buy it years ago.)
THE FLAG WAS HANGING ON THE WALL OF HIS OFFICE, LIKE SOME ^#$&ING TROPHY!