H.D. Burnham Farm - Conserved 1995

“It’s time somebody stopped this juggernaut,” said Harry Burnham after conserving his land in Stowe Hollow.  He was talking about development in Stowe.  He looks irritated even saying the word ‘condominium.’*

Hill farms like the Harry Burnham Farm used to be common in Stowe Hollow, but this part of Stowe is now primarily residential.  The Burnham Farm with its rustic barn is one of the last active hill farms in the Hollow.  Conserved in perpetuity by Harry Burnham in 1995, these open rolling hills and productive forests will remain a special scene in Stowe Hollow.

The Burnham Farm’s 107 acres consist of two managed forests, a productive apple orchard, and hill pastures where Harry’s sheep herd can be seen grazing.  The land reaches to the top of Raven Hill, where the views of Stowe Village, the Green Mountains and the Worcester Mountains are simply superb.  Trails in the Raven Hill Forest and the white pine forest are open to the public.

Harry Burnham is a lover of the land, along with poetry and classic literature.  The walls of his cabin are lined with Shakespeare, his favorite.   A few signs are posted on trees on his property with poetry.  Imagine if everyone substituted words of poetry for their NO TRESSPASSING signs.  Kathleen H. Fitzgerald, former Executive Director of Stowe Land Trust, recalls the first time she walked the property with Harry.  “Harry dug his walking stick into the ground told me that the land cares for him, nourishes him and will bury him.”

The Town of Stowe, the Freeman Foundation, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and Stowe Land Trust members supported the acquisition of the Burnham easement.  Stowe Land Trust retains a Right-of-First-Refusal on the Farm.

*Stowe Reporter, Thursday, July 21, 1994