TOWN OF ESOPUS LIBRARY

John Burroughs Study Center
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ACCESS THE WORLD OF
JOHN BURROUGHS
THROUGH THE
TOWN OF ESOPUS LIBRARY

COLLECTION..........JOHN BURROUGHS..........RELATED LINKS AND EVENTS



2008
September 20 - John Burroughs Sanctuary Ramble
Hudson River Valley Ramble

SLABSIDES EVENTS




Burroughs at work

Visit the Burroughs Study Center during regular library open hours. Materials from the collection may be checked out at the service desk.

2007........
The Burroughs Study Center is located on the South wall in the new building.
Thanks to the construction crew from One Way Construction the marble fire place was dismantled and moved to the new building site.
fireplaceOnce again it provides a focal point for the Burroughs collection.


  • 2006...
    State of the Hudson- Poughkeepsie Journal
    Hudson River Quiz!
  • 2001-03 ….
  • As part of the Town of Esopus Heritage and Recreation Network project, 2002
    • Brochures now available
    • Project Sponsors - Hudson River Valley Greenway Conservancy, Inc.
      Town of Esopus
      Town of Esopus Library
      Scenic Hudson


  • From the application by Town Supervisor Ray Rice to John P. Cahill,
    Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, State of New York

"The environmental education program which we envision will be a partnership between the Town of Esopus, the Esopus/Port Ewen Library and the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. This program will capitalize on the unique estuarine resource, which exists in our recently created Sleightsburgh Park. The combination of Sleightsburgh Park with the environmental education expertise of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, and the environmental resource center of the Esopus/Port Ewen library will provide a facility to educate visitors and residents about our segment of the Hudson River Estuary."

Therefore recent additions to the John Burroughs Hudson River Collection and sponsorship of programs in cooperation with Sloop Clearwater at the Town of Esopus Library has in part been funded by a grant from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund through the Hudson River Estuary Program.




ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  • Elizabeth Burroughs Kelley
  • Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Peterson
  • Hudson River Improvement Fund
We wish to express our appreciation to our contributors who made this Study Center a reality.

The John Burroughs Study Center idea originated in 1995 when Burroughs's grand-daughter, the late Mrs. Elizabeth Burroughs Kelley was honored by the Library with the Judge Elsworth Community Service Award for Mrs. Kelley's life work of preserving her grandfather's legacy for future generations. To show her gratitude and enthusiasm for the idea of the study center, Mrs. Kelly donated artwork, memorabilia and books to enhance the collection.

E.B Kelley/S. Hauer award

Through a recent $15,000 grant from the Hudson River Improvement Fund, the library purchased equipment to augment and expand the Burroughs materials by adding a Hudson River focus and multimedia element to the collection. With this dynamic and diverse collection, the library hopes to not only inspire and inform the community about Burroughs and his work, but also foster a lively discourse on the ecological, historical, cultural, and environmental issues surrounding the Hudson River and its environs.

THE COLLECTION

The John Burroughs Hudson River Collection is a multi-media collection of materials relating to the life and works of the West Park naturalist, John Burroughs with an additional focus on ecological, historical, cultural and environmental issues surrounding his Hudson River and local environs mainly in the Town of Esopus.

Examples of collection development areas are:

Burroughs Focus
  • The literary works of author John Burroughs
  • Biographical works of Burroughs individually and as a participant in activities of his day
  • The John Burroughs Association including the award books for naturalist writing and the JBA newsletters
  • The John Burroughs Natural History Society

Hudson River Focus
  • Environmental and ecological issues such as fauna and flora of the river;
    geology, the Hudson as an estuary; fishing on the Hudson, Sleightsburg flats and local weather.
  • Historical issues such as the winter berth of the Mary Powell;
    ice sailing; Hudson River Native Americans, ferry landings.
  • Cultural issues such as Hudson River Painters and architecture of the Hudson River Valley.


Slabsides

JOHN BURROUGHS

"If I were to name the three most precious resources of life, I should say books, friends, and nature: and the greatest of these, at least the most constant and always at hand, is nature."
John Burroughs

John Burroughs was a resident of West Park
in the Town of Esopus from 1873 until his death in 1921.
He was the author of some 25 volumes
through which he popularized the American "nature essay".

At nearby Slabsides,
the rustic writing cabin he built in 1895,
Burroughs entertained hundreds of visitors
including many of the notable men
of his day such as Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and John Muir.





RELATED LINKS

Environment



RELATED EVENTS


SLABSIDES EVENTS


Slabsides is open twice a year from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
on the third Saturday in May and the first Saturday in October.
Sanctuary is open to hikers and nature lovers.

Updated.....9/02/2008 by M