Nestell Kipp "Ned" Anderson (1885–1967) was an American farmer who spearheaded
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
's leg of the
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...
, which currently runs for 50 miles through the northwest corner of the state. In addition to creating and maintaining other area trails for the
Connecticut Forest & Park's (CFPA) Blue-Blazed Trail System, he also organized
Sherman, Connecticut
Sherman is the northernmost and least populous town of Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,527 at the 2020 census. The town was formed in 1802 from the northern part of New Fairfield. It is named for Roger Sherman ...
's first
Boy Scout
A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
troop in 1931, as well as the Housatonic Trail Club in 1932, for amateur and avid hikers.
History
While hiking in 1929, Ned Anderson met Judge
Arthur Perkins, a member of CFPA's Connecticut's Blue Blazed Trails Committee, who introduced Anderson to
Myron Avery
Myron Haliburton Avery (1899–1952) was an American lawyer, hiker and explorer. Born in Lubec, Maine, Avery was a protégé of Judge Arthur Perkins and a collaborator and sometimes rival of Benton MacKaye. He was president of the Potomac A ...
. These two men were drumming up interest in
Benton MacKaye
Benton MacKaye ( ; March 6, 1879 – December 11, 1975) was an American forester, planner and conservationist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. After studying forestry at Harvard Unive ...
's vision of a 2,000-mile contiguous footpath from
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
to
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
—The Appalachian Trail. Most people with whom they met were interested but few were committing to it; Anderson took an immediate interest.
Taking on dual roles as Chairman of CFPA's Blue Blazed Trails' Housatonic Section (officially – 1932), and as a member of the Appalachian Trail Conference's (ATC—now
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) (formerly Appalachian Trail Conference) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the Appalachian Trail, a route in the eastern United States that runs from Maine to Georgia. Founded in ...
) Board of Managers (he was the ATC's 49th member), Ned mapped and cleared, cut, hacked, and blazed the state's trail from
Dog Tail Corners in Webatuck, NY, (coming from
Bear Mountain across the Hudson River) which borders
Kent, CT
Kent is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located alongside the border with New York, the town's population was 3,019 according to the 2020 census. Kent is home to three boarding schools: Kent School, the Marvelwood Schoo ...
, at Ashley Falls, all the way up to another
Bear Mountain at the
border. Anderson spearheaded and maintained the Candlewood Mountain, Schaghticoke (SCAT-uh-coke) and Housatonic Range trails as well.
Ned Anderson organized Sherman's first boy scout troop in 1931 (Troop #48), and the boys earned badges by trailblazing. To spread the interest in hiking, nature and the trail, he organized The Housatonic Trail Club (HTC,) in 1932, which gave a portion of its annual dues to the ATC. Anderson and his volunteers maintained upkeep of his trails for nearly twenty years (1929–1948). In between, members piled in his bus (see biography below) and were treated to hikes all over
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
.
Anderson drew the first official maps for the statewide Blue Blazed Trail System, which were made available to hikers in individual booklets. A comprehensive map was soon published in the 1933 issue of the Telephone News. CFPA's 1934 proposal to publish a complete trail guide finally came to fruition in 1937, with the first edition of the ''Connecticut Walk Book''. It featured Ned's Candlewood Mountain Trail. This and Ned's Schaghticoke and Housatonic Range trails were also highlighted in a smaller publication, ''Walk Around New Milford''.
The entire Appalachian Trail was completed in 1937 and by 1939 the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
and
U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
were working to formalize and protect the trail as a “scenic trailway.”
Anderson officially retired from trail management in 1948 at age 63, whereupon the ATC board passed a formal resolution expressing their gratitude and sincere appreciation for his labors and accomplishments and distinguished service on behalf of the Appalachian Trail.
Legacy
![Ned Anderson Memorial Bridge, Appalachian Trail, CT](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Ned_Anderson_Memorial_Bridge%2C_Appalachian_Trail%2C_CT.jpg)
In 1949, volunteer members of the
Appalachian Mountain Club
Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Ma ...
(AMC) took over maintenance of Connecticut's portion of the AT. In 1968, the
National Trails System
The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...
was created, and the Appalachian Trail was the first trail so designated.
In 1979, a portion of Connecticut's Appalachian Trail was rerouted. (The ATC has worked over the years to move more of the trail off public roadways and to allow for protected “corridors.”) This was a combined effort between the Naromi Land Trust of Sherman, CT, and the Appalachian Trail Conference. Along this new leg at the confluence of the
Ten Mile and
Housatonic rivers north of Sherman, CT, a bridge now spans the waterway. In an unprecedented move by the ATC, it bears a plaque in dedication—to Ned K. Anderson.
Today, the Appalachian Trail is maintained by 31 trail clubs and multiple partnerships, and managed by the National Park Service, United States Forest Service, and the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy. In fact, over 5,500 volunteers log over 200,000 hours of service annually. Volunteers from the
Connecticut Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club maintain the whole of the Connecticut section of the Appalachian Trail.
The ATC has expanded its role to include education, science and awareness in addition to trail maintenance and protection.
Connecticut Forest & Park Association continues to be a strong advocate for trails and conservation efforts throughout Connecticut and continually updates and publishes the Connecticut Walk Book, which is now done in two volumes—''East'' and ''West'', and features over 800 miles of trails. The Blue Blazed trails Anderson created and oversaw as a section manager have long since been delegated each to individual leaders and teams and continue to thrive.
Anderson was included in the 2015 class of the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame at the
Appalachian Trail Museum.
Personal life
Born in Hartwell, Ohio, in 1885, Ned Anderson spent his youth in
Mt. Vernon, NY, while his father worked for his wife's family's renowned, NYC-based Kipp Wagon Works. Anderson enjoyed the outdoors and developed an early love of nature and hiking. He attended both
Columbia and
Cornell
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
(studying
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
) for a time.
In 1906, his father retired and purchased Brae Burn farm (a poultry operation) in
Sherman, CT. Ned (at 20) went along to work it. He continued to hike and camp. In 1914 he met and married Lena May Clark. The couple had four children. Anderson worked for the
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
-based
Sperry Company and lived in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. It was there that Lena died of the
flu epidemic in 1919. Anderson took his children back to the farm, soon met and married Edna Holstein, a city girl visiting family. They were married in 1921, and had one child together. The farm switched from poultry to dairy and the couple opened their 1840 farmhouse as a country bed and breakfast. Guests came from all over the world.
When their oldest son was ready for high school, Anderson bought a bus to ensure that Clark would get home in time to do his chores. And for the next thirty-three years, most of the children in Sherman went to and from school in a punctual, orderly and, by all accounts, adventurous fashion. On Sundays, Anderson used the bus to fetch area children for Sunday school and return them all home again. He asked no compensation for this “good deed” and provided his services faithfully for twenty-five years.
Ned and Edna shared an avid interest in and enthusiasm for young people. Their home was always open to and often filled with their children's friends. They also believed firmly in upgrading the educational experience in and out of the classroom. While Edna was instrumental in organizing Sherman's first
PTA and bringing much needed services to the school district and into the schools, Anderson, who thought the world—especially the outdoors—a most worthy classroom, sought to bring their bus-riding passengers an education on the way to and from school and via an array of entertaining class trips. Since the bus was privately owned, the Andersons could take their view of education on the road—and so often did.
Over the years, the Andersons suffered setbacks, such as the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, when the price of a gallon of milk dipped to that of a 3¢ postage stamp. And there were devastating tragedies: the death of a child and a catastrophic fire that destroyed their barn, equipment, supplies, and much of their herd. Although the HTC hikers and the Sherman community rallied to raise moneys for the Andersons, it was a financial loss from which they never fully recovered.
Edna became an artist and well-respected jewelry designer. She showed at Society of Connecticut Craftsmen (SCC) fairs, sold in NYC's fine department stores, and at the artist co-op she and Ned ran at Brae Burn Farm. He often collected and polished the stones she would use in her gold and silver designs.
In addition to hiking, Anderson also had a love for exploring nature underground as well. In the late '20s and '30s, he accompanied and assisted author,
Clay Perry
Clair Willard Perry (1887–1961), called Clay Perry, was an American writer and outdoorsman. He coined the term " spelunker".
Biography
Born in 1887 in Waupaca, Wisconsin, Perry moved to western Massachusetts as a young man. A novelist, short sto ...
, to map and explore (and discover) caves. Their investigations of—and treks and crawls through—caves, abandoned mines, gorges and other subterranean finds across
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, were chronicled in Perry's 1939 book, ''Underground New England''.
The
National Speleological Society
The National Speleological Society (NSS) is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. Originally headquartered in Washington D.C., its current offices are in H ...
was organized in 1941 in
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
. The first chapter or “grotto” formed of the NSS was the New England Chapter of
Middlebury, CT. Co-organized by spelunker and author, Clay Perry and Ned Anderson, who was also its V.P.
Anderson officially retired from trail management in 1948 at age 63.
[Tomaselli, p. 61] He avidly continued hiking and spelunking for a number of years. Even as he got older and less sure-footed, he was known to take a jaunt with walking stick or cane, down the lane to visit with neighbors. Edna said that when her husband's legs gave out, so did he. Anderson died in 1967 at age 82.
References
External links
Appalachian Mountain Club''The Connecticut Walk Book''Doris Tomaselli author of "Ned Anderson: Connecticut's Appalachian Trailblazer – Small Town Renaissance Man"
Naromi Land Trust of ShermanNational Park ServiceAppalachian National Scenic Trail
National Speleological SocietySherman Historical Societyof Sherman, CT
Trail Years: A History of the Appalachian Trail Conference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Nestell Kipp
Appalachian Trail
Hikers
1967 deaths
1885 births
People from Cincinnati
People from Sherman, Connecticut
People from Mount Vernon, New York