Laurance Rockefeller's Legacy in Woodstock, Vermont

The Rockefeller name raised expectations, but people who met Laurance Spelman Rockefeller were often surprised by how quiet he was. That humility and approachability, the National Park Service writes, marking twenty years since his death, helped him build partnerships that protected land and heritage both in his own community and far beyond. His belief was that real progress comes from shared interests — that bringing different ideas together could turn them into collective action.

Autumn on Blake Hill, seen from the porch of the mansion. Credit: National Park Service.

Conservation on a community scale

Rockefeller loved Woodstock, Vermont — the beloved home of his wife, Mary French Rockefeller, and a community that shaped both their lives.

• Blake Hill. Laurance and Mary bought 400 acres of Blake Hill and placed a scenic easement on 249 of them to protect the land's rural character — inviting local residents into conservation as stakeholders with a shared vision. The view of the hill came to stand, for him, for unity and collaboration.
• Three partners. He fostered partnerships among the Woodstock Inn and Resort, Billings Farm and Museum, and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, creating economic opportunity while protecting the community's history and culture.
• Historic character. He championed historic preservation, including burying power lines to keep the character of a town that had been called the "Prettiest Small Town in America."

National recognition

The farm, the park and the inn gave Woodstock a strong economic foundation and built alliances for stewardship.

The park carries forward the hope expressed at its founding: that a message about conservation stewardship, and its importance for the future, would once again go out across the nation from the hills of Vermont.

Sources

Based on "Celebrating the Legacy of Laurance Rockefeller: 20 Years After His Passing," Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain.