Natural Features & Ecosystems

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  The Mount Tom Forest

  The woods that cover Mount Tom stand as both a model of scientific forestry practices and a beloved public resource.

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  Glacial Features

  The movement of glaciers thousands of years ago is responsible for giving Vermont's hills their rounded shape.

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  The Pogue

  A man-made, 14-acre pond is tucked into the hills of the park's Mount Tom Forest.

 

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is a 550-acre park located east of Vermont's Green Mountain Range. The park is bordered to the south by land owned by the town of Woodstock and the Vermont Land Trust, while to the north lies privately owned land. Just outside the park's boundaries is the summit of Mt. Tom (1,345 ft), a popular hiking destination that rewards visitors with a panoramic view of the village of Woodstock. Glimpses of the past can be seen not only in the rounded hilltops shaped by glacial activity but also in the stone fences that once enclosed sheep pastures on the property.

 

Summer Pasture

NPS Photo / Sczomak

Land cleared for agriculture

Over 150 years ago, the forests that occupy the park today looked much different. Throughout the 1800s, nearly 80% of Vermont's native forests were cut down for wood products and to make way for pasture land. This legacy of past agricultural activity is still visible today in the stone fences that cross the park and in the fields that the park maintains. Historically, these fields were used for gardens or for housing livestock.