Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Historical Park
National Historical Park
National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...
in Woodstock
Woodstock (town), Vermont
Woodstock is the shire town, and capital, of Windsor County, Vermont, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 3,232. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock and Taftsville.-History:...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. The park preserves the site where Frederick Billings established a managed forest and a progressive dairy farm
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
. The name honors Billings and the other owners of the property: George Perkins Marsh
George Perkins Marsh
George Perkins Marsh , an American diplomat and philologist, is considered by some to be America's first environmentalist, although "conservationist" would be more accurate...
and Laurence
Laurance Rockefeller
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller was a venture capitalist, financier, philanthropist, a major conservationist and a prominent third-generation member of the Rockefeller family. He was the fourth child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and brother to John D...
and Mary French Rockefeller. The Rockefellers transferred the property to the federal government in 1992. It is the only unit of the United States National Park System in Vermont (except for the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
).
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park was awarded the first Forest Stewardship Council
Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council is an international not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Its main tools for achieving this are standard setting, independent certification and labeling of forest products...
(FSC) certification of a United States national park by the Rainforest Alliance
Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance is a non-governmental organization with the published aims of working to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. It is based in New York City, and has offices throughout the...
's SmartWood program in August 2005. This certification made Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller only the second United States federal land to receive such certification for sustainable forest management.
Visitors can take guided tours of the 19th century George Perkins Marsh Boyhood Home
George Perkins Marsh Boyhood Home
George Perkins Marsh Boyhood Home, also known as Marsh-Billings House, is a home in Woodstock, Vermont that was the boyhood home of George Perkins Marsh, an early conservationist....
, which includes displays of landscape paintings, highlighting the influence painting and photography had on the conservation movement. The gardens have also been restored.