by Shannon Butler
When the weather starts to warm up (like it seems to be doing right now), we head outdoors. We search for a trail to hike, a stream to fish, or a forest to watch for wildlife. It helps bring us back to life. There is something about the warmth of the sun in the wilderness that refreshes all of the senses. Nobody understood this better than John Burroughs, a 19th century essayist and a Hudson Valley native. Burroughs wrote over 25 books on topics ranging from nature to religion to camping with Theodore Roosevelt! His writing still continues to inspire us today, almost exactly 100 years after his death on March 29, 1921.
John Burroughs was born in the Catskills near Roxbury, New York in 1837. It was to this modest farm that he attributed his love of nature. He began his career as a teacher before he published his first piece of writing in the Atlantic Monthly in 1860. By 1864, he found a job at the U.S. Treasury in Washington, D.C. and continued to write from his office there, but his cramped office in the Capitol was nothing like the freedom of the Catskills. In 1873, he purchased a fruit farm along the west bank of the Hudson and called it “Riverby.” He had a stone house and a separate study constructed here. He slowly began making improvements to the land over time, including harvesting celery (which was surprisingly profitable), while continuing to write his essays, many of which were inspired on his farm.
In his later years, Burroughs decided that he needed something away from the noise of the river (steamboats and trains were constantly passing by). In November of 1895, he began to build a small cabin, further inland, deep in the woods. He worked with a few other craftsmen to put together a modest frame with a stone chimney and fireplace, 23 feet long and 19 feet wide. The entire look and feel of the house is quite primitive; even the furniture is handmade and rough in appearance, which is exactly what Burroughs wanted in a home and a lifestyle. This place, which he called “Slabsides,” attracted visitors from all over the world: the young, the old, the famous, and the curious. Notable visitors included Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Ford, both friends of Burroughs who traveled with him on nature explorations. Students from nearby schools stopped by to learn from him, and some of his biggest fans appear to have been the students of Vassar College, who visited regularly.
From his little cabin, Burroughs could see various birds that lived in the woods, which he loved to describe in his writing. He never bothered the birds or chipmunks that lived around his home. One visitor noted that Burroughs loved to make conversation with every animal he encountered, wild or domestic, almost as if they understood him (having had many conversations with my dogs, and the squirrels in my yard, I can relate). In his work “A River View: And Other Hudson Valley Essays,” he wrote of witnessing the battles between two species of birds fighting over space in an apple tree outside his window. Here is an example of his narrative voice:
“A male bluebird came along with his mate prospecting for a spot for a second nest. He alighted at the entrance of this hole and peeped in. Instantly the flycatcher was upon him. The blue was enveloped by the butternut brown. The two fell to the ground, where the bluebird got away, and in a moment more came back and looked in the hole again, as much as to say, ‘I will look into that hole now at all hazards.’ The barbarian made a dash for him again, but he was now on his guard and avoided her.”
John Burroughs died on March 29, 1921 while traveling on a train in Ohio. He was 83 years old. His little cabin “Slabsides” landed in the hands of his friends Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford, who soon turned it over to the John Burroughs Association. This organization continues to preserve the cabin and most of the land around it. Burroughs’ estate is now designated a National Historic Landmark and today, it is a wonderful place to hike, explore, and be inspired.
Resources:
“A River View: And Other Hudson Valley Essays” by John Burroughs – LH 507.747 B
“John Burroughs’ Slabsides” by Elizabeth Burroughs Kelley – LH B – Burroughs
http://www.johnburroughsassociation.org/visit
Images:
01 – Photo of John Burroughs standing outside of his study – LH Collection
02 – Photo of John Burroughs with a ground of students – LH Collection
03 – Postcard of John Burroughs at Slabsides – LH Collection
04 – Photo of Slabsides – LH Collection
