Riverby was the estate of the American naturalist

John Burroughs John Burroughs (April 3, 1837 – March 29, 1921) was an American naturalist and nature essayist, active in the conservation movement in the United States. The first of his essay collections was ''Wake-Robin'' in 1871. In the words of his bio ...

(1837–1921), who wrote and created a genre of naturalist essays. It is located above the west bank of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, in the town of West Park, in

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

. Burroughs built the main house and a separate study, where he did much of his most influential writing. The property was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1968. It is private property, still partially held by the Burroughs family, and is not open to the public.

Description and history

Riverby is an estate of about , set on the west bank of the Hudson River on the east side of

United States Route 9W U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as George Washington Bridge Plaza, Fletcher Avenue crosses the U.S. Route 1/9, US 1 ...

. The terrain is generally wooded, descending steeply through a series of terraces from the road to the river. The main house built by Burroughs is on the highest terrace, and is a three-story structure built out of stone. It was damaged by fire in 1947, and its interior has lost historic integrity. The study located on a lower terrace, is a roughly square frame structure finished in chestnut slabs whose exterior retains unpeeled bark. Other buildings on the property include a barn, summerhouse, and caretaker's cottage. John Burroughs bought a farm here in 1873, and added additional land later. In the study, which looks east over the Hudson River, Burroughs wrote ''Fresh Fields'' (1884), ''Signs and Seasons'' (1886), ''Indoor Studies'' (1889), and ''Riverby'' (1894), and he edited other works.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

and many others visited Burroughs in the study. He also wrote in

Woodchuck Lodge Woodchuck Lodge is a historic house on Burroughs Memorial Road in a remote part of the western Catskills in Roxbury, New York. Built in the mid-19th century, it was the last home of naturalist and writer John Burroughs (1837-1921) from 1908, an ...

, a lodge in Roxbury in the western Catskills of

Delaware County, New York Delaware County is a county located in the US state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 44,308. The county seat is Delhi. The county is named after the Delaware River, which was named in honor of Thomas West, ...

, that he used from 1908 on, and

Slabsides Slabsides is the log cabin built by naturalist John Burroughs and his son on a nine-acre (3.6 ha) wooded and hilly tract in 1895 one mile (1.6 km) west of Riverby, his home in West Park, New York. From the time of its construction to the ...

, a cabin one mile (1.6 km) west of Riverby that he used in summers from 1895 on. The property was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968, with only the study as a contributing element. The study is lined with books and, up to 1975 at least, had been preserved essentially as Burroughs left it. The home is maintained by the Burroughs Society. The collection of buildings on the estate has been split among his descendants, and they discourage visiting the site.Current description of property and emails from former resident

References

External links

'John Burroughs: Naturalist of West Park'

{{National Register of Historic Places Houses in Ulster County, New York National Historic Landmarks in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Ulster County, New York Hudson River U.S. Route 9W Houses completed in 1881 1881 establishments in New York (state)

Description and history

See also

References

External links