Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Carriage Roads

Marston, Christopher; Gray, Chris; Feldman-Grosse, Aaron; Mark, Amy; Wollan, Katie; Christianson, Justine; Haas, David

Historic American Engineering Record of the carriage road system at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont. The result of Frederick Billings‟ efforts was a network of carriage roads giving access to the estate for utilitarian purposes, as well as providing a pleasurable encounter with the landscape. Traveling along the roads, riders could see reforestation in progress, picturesque vistas, and the reward of the view from the top of Mount Tom. The good stewardship of Billings‟ descendants allowed this model nineteenth century landscape to survive, with minor modifications that reflect changes in land use. The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Carriage Road Recording Project was undertaken during the summer of 2001 and brought to completion during the fall and winter of 2003. It is part of the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), a long-range program to document historically significant engineering and industrial works in the United States. HAER is administered by the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (John Burns, Acting Manager) a division of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation‟s Federal Lands Highway Program (Art Hamilton, Administrator) through the NPS Park Roads and Parkways Program, and co-sponsored by Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (Rolf Diamant, Superintendent) in cooperation with the Billings Farm & Museum and The Woodstock Foundation, Inc. (David Donath, President; Marian Koetsier, Administrative Officer). The field work, measured drawings, and historical report were completed under the direction of Christopher Marston, Project Leader. The recording team consisted of Field Supervisor and Landscape Architect Chris Gray (Texas A&M University); Landscape Architect Aaron Feldman-Grosse (Penn State University); Botanical Illustrator Amy Mark (Southern Oregon State College); and Historian Katie Wollan (UC, Santa Barbara), who provided descriptive paragraphs of the carriage roads. Justine Christianson, HAER Historian, produced the historical report. David Haas completed the large format photography.

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Carriage Roads

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