Page 94 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2023 SPECIAL CRUISE EDTION

of humans had brought the earth to a
desolation almost as complete as that of the
moon,” according to the park. In his 1864 book,
“Man and Nature,” Marsh analyzed man’s
impact on nature and pleaded for responsible
land stewardship, making his book one of the
founding texts of the environmental movement.
Frederick Billings (1823-1890) bought the
property in 1869. He had made a fortune as an
attorney in San Francisco during the California
Gold Rush and returned to his native Vermont,
where he found barren hills and devastated
countryside.
He planted trees — lots of them. When he
died in 1890, his wife, Julia, and their three
daughters, Elizabeth, Mary and Laura, kept his
vision alive and maintained the home and farm
for four decades.
Billings’ granddaughter, Mary, married
Laurance Rockefeller in 1934, bringing
together two families with a strong
commitment to conservation. The Rockefeller
family had already created or enhanced more
than 20 national parks. Laurance and Mary
established the Marsh- Billings-Rockefeller
National Historic Park as Vermont’s first
national park.
It is truly hard to imagine this state
denuded and barren. But thanks to
conservationists like these, the state is now
home to forests that “once more glow with the
glorious autumn foliage,” said Billings.
I hiked up the carriage trails behind the
mansion to reach The Pogue, a pond tucked
atop Mount Tom. The day I was there, I
couldn’t see The Pogue through the fog —
which seemed appropriately spooky for
October. I could certainly see all those yellow
birches and beeches with a lone sugar maple
here and there as I walked up the trails.

Tableaus abound just walking around
Woodstock. The roasted cauliflower
with tahini and sweet potato fritters at
Sante' in Woodstock.

94 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SPRING 2023