Land Use History for Marsh-Billings National I Historical Park $t m ;6 Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation L--1 Itural Landscape Program North Atlantic Region National Park Service Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/landusehistoryfoOOfoul Land Use History for Marsh-Billings National Historical Park by H. Eliot Foulds Katharine Lacy Lauren G. Meier Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation CULTURAL LANDSCAPE PUBLICATION NO. 4 National Park Service North Atlantic Region Cultural Landscape Program Boston, Massachusetts 1994 Prepared for the Division of Planning, Development and Engineering National Park Service, North Atlantic Region By the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation A partnership between the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, the North Atlantic Regional Cultural Landscape Program and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University In collaboration with David Donath, Director, Billings Farm & Museum Janet Houghton, Curator of Decorative Arts, Billings Farm & Museum John Wiggin, Director of Land Use, Woodstock Resort Corporation Cover illustration Four-square garden and Palm house before installation of the fountain designed by Piatt, c. 1895. Photograph courtesy Billings Family Archives Publication Credits Information in this publication may be copied and used, with the condition that credit is given to the authors, the National Park Service and other contributors. Appropriate citations and bibliographic credits should be made for each use. Table of Contents List of Figures v Foreword vii Preface viii Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 Sources Consulted 1 Part One: Conservation Philosophies of Marsh, Billings and Rockefeller 5 Introduction 5 Early American Attitudes Towards Wilderness 5 Early Conservation Efforts 6 The Boyhood Landscape of George Perkins Marsh 6 George Perkins Marsh's Innovative Conservation Philosophy 7 Marsh's Legacy 9 Frederick Billings 10 Laurance Rockefeller 13 Part Two: Land Use History 19 Pre-Marsh Period (Pre-History to 1789) 19 Documentation 19 Indigenous Landscape 19 Early Settlement 21 Marsh Period (1789-1 869) 25 Documentation 25 Landscape Setting 25 Evolution of the Marsh Landscape 27 Description of Marsh Landscape c. 1869 29 Billings Period (1869-1914) 37 Documentation 37 Landscape Setting 37 The Billings Domestic Landscape 38 The Billings Farm and Forest 59 Billings Heirs/Rockefeller Period (1914-1992) 67 Documentation 67 Transfer and control of the property following Frederick Billing's death 67 The Domestic Landscape 68 The Farm and Forest 70 The Establishment of the Marsh-Billings National Historic Park 76 iii Part Three: Analysis and Recommendations 83 Preliminary Evaluation of Significance 83 Preliminary Discussion of Integrity 89 Preservation Issues 90 Recommendations for Subsequent Work 91 Bibliography 95 Books and Published Sources 95 Reports and Unpublished Materials 96 Interviews 97 Archives Consulted and Outcome 97 Appendices 99 A. Local Gazetteer (from Houghton) 99 B. Forest Stand Chart (from Wiggin) 108 C. Chronology of Events, Plans and Photographs (adapted from Donath) 113 IV . List of Figures Figure Page 1 Drawing from The Abenaki by Colin Calloway 20 2. Map of Woodstock, Vermont, 1832 22 3. Rogers stone boundary marker 23 4. Map of Woodstock by Hosea Doton, 1855 26 5. Charles Marsh house, Woodstock Vermont 28 6. Advertisement, Female High School, Rev. B.C.C. Parker, Schoolmaster, 1839 30 7. Ottauqueechee floodplain occupied by the Windsor County Fairgrounds, 1865 31 8. Charles Marsh's Federal Style house and hillside grounds c. 1864-69 32 9. Period Plan, Marsh Period (1789-1869) 33 10. Billings Property Acquisitions from Doton Surveys, 1887-88 39 11. Billings landscape plan, by Robert Morris Copeland, 1869 41 12. Typical American landscape design of the mid- 19th century 42 13. Kitchen garden in the upper meadow, c. 1887-90 44 14. Comparison of a typical rustic shelter with "summer house" on south lawn, 45 Billings Mansion 15. Billings Estate Map No. 2 by Doton and others, 1887-88 46 16. View of northeast side of Billings mansion and grounds, c.1870 47 17. Billings summer-house, gate house and greenhouse, no date 48 18. Billings mansion and grounds from iron bridge, c. 1870 49 19. Billings mansion after 1886 remodeling by H. H. Holly 50 20. Billings mansion, grounds and floodplain meadow, c. 1886 52 Figure Page 21. Billings mansion and ground, c. 1890 53 22. Four-square garden and Palm House before addition of fountain, c.1895 54 23. Four-square garden after installation of fountain, post- 1899 55 24. Long terraces and Piatt benches before Shipman's planting design, post 1899 56 25. Driveway redesign by Hutcheson, c. 1902 57 26. Herbaceous boarders for long terrace, designed by Ellen Shipman, 1913 58 27. Aitken's restored 1890 farmhouse 59 28. Sketch map, Billings estate showing forest plantations, c. 1917 61 29. Period Plan, Billings Period, 1869-1914 65 30. The Bungalow 68 31. The swimming pool, c.1960's 69 32. Tracing of contour map of mansion grounds, c.1956 71 33. Secondary entrance drive, Bryan Lynch, landscape architect, c.1978 72 34. Windsor County Fairgrounds in the 1890's 74 35. Visitor's center, Billings Farm and Museum, by Sasaki and Associates 75 36. Period Plan, Billings Heirs/Rockefeller Period, 1914-1992, shown c.1992 77 VI " Foreword "The true importance of Marsh, Billings and those who follow in their footsteps goes beyond simple stewardship. Their work transcends maintenance. It involves new thought and new action to enhance and enrich and even repair errors of the past. This may be the real importance of what we can be taught and learn at Marsh-Billings. We cannot rest on the achievements of the past. Rather, each generation must not only be stewards, but activists, innovators and enrichers. Laurance S. Rockefeller I commend the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation project team for this perceptive report documenting the land use history of the Marsh-Billings National Historical Park. The conservation philosophies of George Perkins Marsh, Frederick Billings, and Laurance S. Rockefeller are reflected in the evolution of the park's cultural landscape. While each generation's approach to stewardship differs, there has been a continuous commitment to conservation. Evidence of this legacy transcends the site and forms the foundation of our conservation ideals today. The National Park Service, guided by this report, is committed to meeting Laurance S. Rockefeller's challenge. We will perpetuate the history of conservation stewardship while being activists, open to bringing new ideas for action, innovation and enrichment to the management of Marsh-Billings National Historical Park. Marie Rust Regional Director North Atlantic Region National Park Service Boston, Massachusetts vu Preface The Land Use History for Marsh-Billings National Historical Park is the fourth publication in our Cultural Landscape Publication Series. This series is intended to aid managers and other preservation professionals in the planning and management of cultural landscapes. This report was prepared by the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, the National Park Service's cultural resource center dedicated to providing landscape technical assistance, training, and technology development. The Olmsted Center is a partnership between the North Atlantic Region's Cultural Landscape Program, the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. The project team of Eliot Foulds, Katharine Lacy, and Lauren Meier compiled a concise yet comprehensive overview of the landscape history of the Marsh-Billings estate and associated Billings Farm. This report provides critical resource information for the current planning and future stewardship of this significant property. Nora Mitchell Manager Cultural Landscape Program and Series Editor Cultural Landscape Publication Series North Atlantic Region National Park Service Boston, Massachusetts Vlll ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many individuals assisted with and contributed to this Land Use History for Marsh-Billings National Historical Park. Specifically, we would like to thank David Donath, Director of the Billings Farm & Museum, whose materials prepared for the Conservation Stewardship Workshop, held in October of 1993, were invaluable in the preparation of this document. Janet Houghton, Curator of Decorative Arts graciously and efficiently directed our research at the Billings Family Archives, a collection rich in landscape history. John Wiggin, Director of Land Use for the Woodstock Resort Corporation, made possible access to the site during blizzard conditions by arranging transportation via the WRC ski trail grooming equipment. Mr. Wiggin's "Forest Management and Ecological Inventory" provided information critical in the preparation of period plans of the site's forested areas. These three individuals reviewed drafts of the report, providing helpful guidance and comments. Phil Lewis, David Yates, James Sawyer, and Carl Bergstrom were kind enough to be interviewed, each offering valuable personal knowledge of the evolution of the Marsh-Billings landscape. We would also like to thank the librarians of the University of Vermont's Bailey/Howe Library whose timely search of the Marsh Papers located there yielded a map useful in understanding the layout of the Marsh farmstead prior to 1869. We would like to express our appreciation to the North Atlantic Region's Division of Planning, Development and