About Rokeby

This Arbor Day, Rokeby Museum brings a special selection from Rowland E. Robinson`s 1896 work, "In New England Fields and Woods." Robinson`s essay "Spare the Trees" is a brief but poignant appeal for stronger forestry laws, sometimes forgotten in the rush to protect fish and game.

Born in 1833, Robinson had never seen the primeval woodlands of Vermont, already long cleared for settlements and farming. Yet as he lived, he bore witness to the further denudement of the state as it continued to develop into the 19th century. His feelings for the rapidly shrinking woodlands are evident throughout the passage, no more so than in its final paragraph:

"The Yankee, with his proverbial thriftiness and forecast, appears entirely to lose these gifts when it comes to the proper and sensible management of woodlands. Can he not understand that it is more profitable to keep a lean or thin soil that will grow nothing well but wood, growing wood instead of worthless weeds? The crop is one which is slow in coming to the harvest, but it is a sure one, and is every year becoming a more valuable one. It breaks the fierceness of the winds, and keeps the springs from drying up, and is a comfort to the eye, whether in the greenness of the leaf or the barrenness of the bough, and under its protecting arms live and breed the grouse, the quail and the hare, and in its shadowed rills swim the trout."

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Don`t miss Rokeby Museum`s next Conversations in History this Sunday, April 26th, at Ferrisburgh Town Hall! Join us from 3:00pm - 4:00pm to hear the story of John & Marianne Orvis, an extraordinary 19th-century couple who together led a life of activism and social reform.

This talk will be given by Clark Hinsdale III, Rokeby board member, and direct descendant of the Orvises, who rediscovered their story through artifacts, letters, and works of art passed down by the family. These artifacts will be displayed at the town hall for attendees to examine.

Learn how John Orvis was inspired by the abolitionist fervor of his Quaker community to join the fight against slavery. Later, his interest in utopianism brought him to the Brook Farm Community in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he met his future wife, Marianne Dwight, whose journal would become an invaluable record of the community.

Admission for this program will be $5 per person, $10 per family. This program will be free to Rokeby members.

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This Earth Day, Rokeby Museum recognizes the need for collective action to drive environmental change. We see this lesson in the life of Rowland E. Robinson, who not only advocated for stricter conservation laws but actively worked to enforce them.

Robinson lived through a time of dramatic environmental change. An avid outdoorsman, Robinson understood the fragility of Vermont`s ecosystems and called for the banning of unethical and unsustainable hunting practices, such as crust hunting and rifle fishing.

Robinson clashed repeatedly with the State Association for the Protection of Fish and Game, often penning editorials accusing them of failing to enforce game laws. Taking matters into his own hands, Robinson joined the Ferrisburgh Sportsman`s Club. Acting as their secretary, Robinson was able to bring public attention to those who skirted the laws on hunting and fishing.

From 1877 until his death, RER continued to write letters, essays, and articles highlighting the need for environmental action. When Vermont established its Fish and Game League in 1891, they elected RER as an honorary member in their very first meeting. Today, we recognize Robinson as simply one part of a national movement that worked tirelessly to reverse the environmental damage of the 19th century.

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