The postcard above was printed in Germany for the Hugh C. Leighton Publishing Co. of Portland Maine.
The photo above was taking facing westward atop Indian Rock on October 18th, 2012.
The postcard above was printed in the United States for Leighton and Valentine Co. of New York City.
The photo above was taken facing eastward across North Avenue on October 17th, 2012.
The postcard above was printed in Holland for Rapheal Tuck and Sons Co.
The photo above was taken facing westward on October 17th. 2012. The tallers trees obstruct the Ethan Allen Tower.
ETHAN ALLEN PARK
Ethan Allen Park is unquestionably one of the most unique park spaces in Burlington. Built on the farm property where revolutionary war patriot Ethan Allen allegedly retired to and eventually died after the Revolutionary War, this land was already rich with historical back-story well before the time its development as a park began. In 1902, the same year the public parks commission was created in Burlington, W. J. Van Patten, who had recently purchased property, became the first president of the Commission.[1] Van Patten almost immediately presented the property to the city of Burlington to be used as a park.[2]
Van Patten had a very particular vision for his property, and in 1904 he gave the most picturesque spot on the bluffs at Indian Rock to the Sons of the American Revolution so that they could build a memorial tower to General Allen.[3] By August 8th, 1905 the Ethan Allen Tower was dedicated at a large celebration complete with military parade, music, Burlington's elite civic leaders, and much fanfare.[4]
However, before this celebration it is clear that the landscape was being shaped by the use of dynamite. The first mention of dynamite purchased and used is in the city report for the year 1905. These explosives were purchased for $14.61.[5]
In June of 1906, the city officially purchased the park from Van Patten with an authorization of credit by vote in the act numbering 261 of the year 1906.[6] A few purchases from Champlain Furniture Manufactures were also reported in that year, and it is clear that at this time the commission was trying to furnish the park for recreational public use.[7] This trend continued as the commission purchased rockers from E. L. Parameter, as well as swings and carriages from Champlain Manufacturing.[8]
In 1910 W. J. Van Patten and the commissioners were quite busy as some more heavy duty work commenced when the commission installed fence posts, tables, and did road work.[9] The beginning of the second decade of the 20th century also marked the first use of electric lights at Ethan Allen Park; the very first electric bill appeared in 1911 and cost only $2.00. That year the commission also purchased farm goats and the first drinking bubblers.[10]
In 1912 and 1913 the use of dynamite continued, and in the annual reports of 1913 a modest amount of explosive was purchased, quite interestingly, at the local paint and hardware store for $7.40. 1912 also marks the express purchase of deer that would become a staple in the park, as well as an annual part of the commission's budget, for the better part of the rest of the decade.[11] In 1914 the commission purchased a slide for the playground, and for the first time mentioned of Anton Hofrichter, the man who would be paid for the next few years to care for and feed the deer.[12] In 1915, for the very first time, repairs were made to Ethan Allen Tower, and the total cost for that was $9.97.[13]
1918 marked the end of the W.J. Van Patten administration and D.C. Hawley became the new chairman of the parks commission,[14] and in December of 1919 the deer were sold to a M.J. Hapgood of Peru, Vermont. Their upkeep was considered too expensive, especially to continue feeding six of them, and it was suggested one or two may be purchased again as funding permitted. It was stressed however that, "the deer (would) be placed on Mr. Hapgood's reservation where they (would) have a good home and plenty of forest to range in."[15]
The growing use of the automobile is noted in 1924 as chairman Hawley expressed deep concern for the increasing number of people parking on the lawn at Ethan Allen Park, and he suggest the council should pass legislation restricting this disturbing development and subsequently enforce that legislation. Hawley also once again requested for money for tower repairs in 1924.[16]
1925 marked the beginning of George P. Burns's administration as superintendent of parks as well as the first year of Thomas Conlon's chairmanship with the parks commission. Ethan Allen Tower was in fact repaired and the commission considered it to be in "excellent condition." However with a growing number of cars there would only be a short time before the driveway into the park would need to be widened,[17] and by 1926 this road had been widened to the pinnacle. In that year, it was reported that a tourist to Burlington, an athletic director who had managed to visit over 200 park systems in his short lifetime commented on the view from the tower as "the finest he'd ever seen."[18]
By the late 1920s the leisurely drive certainly had become a popular activity for Americans, and Burlingtonians were no exception. The Queen City had a few scenic drives of its own at this time, and in 1927 the parks commission referenced the drive up North Avenue, past Battery Park and Ethan Allen park as particularly popular. It is clear that by this time Ethan Allen Park had been established for a number of years and was referred to as "the gem of the parks system."[19]
As the early years of the Depression dragged on there was not as much money to go around for development, and so during the early 1930s most labor was focused on removing dead trees in the park.[20] In spite of all of the suffering during the Depression, the use and attendance at the various city parks actually increased with more unemployment and leisure time and Ethan Allen Park was no exception.[21]
In 1936, Thomas Conlon resigned from the commission in order to become superintendent just as the federal Works Progress Administration arrived program in Burlington. Bolstered by federal money and labor, new roadways were built in Ethan Allen Park over the next three years. New buildings with toiletswere built in 1937 as well as new lookouts at the pinnacle near the site of Ethan Allen Tower at Indian Point in 1938.[22]
Unfortunately for the parks commission the W.P.A. programs seemed to have left almost as quickly as they came, and by 1939 the work done was reported to have been of a general nature.[23] By 1940 they were left with seriously depleted general fund,[24] but even despite a lack of funds, there was work done to Ethan Allen Tower in 1941. A new and safer stairway was installed and work was planned to prevent further deterioration to be done in the next year.[25]
In 1942, as U.S. troops were headed off to serve in World War II, the parks department began their own war which would last over 30 years, and would have many casualties of its own. The removal and preservation of elm trees ravaged by the elm leaf beetle became of paramount concern in that year, a year in which workers in Ethan Allen Park would complete the renovation of the tower that began a year earlier. 1942 also marked the beginning of a new administration in the Burlington parks department as W.L. Hammond, who would go on to serve for 20 years, took over and developed a plan to build picnic areas with tables and fireplaces at Ethan Allen Park.[26]
By 1944, the buildings in the park were in good shape, however roads needed some work. Also in that year supervised recreation began, which had a tenuous stint in Ethan Allen Park, but was a successful and popular program in the city of Burlington as a whole.[27] As their last significant development project of the decade, in the late 1940s the commission began building horseshoe courts at the park for public use.[28]
During the 1950s, the parks department began using DDT extensively as a way to combat the ravages of Dutch elms disease.[29] This costly and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to save the elms, would sap funds and slow development at all of the parks in Burlington. Still the commission found it within the budget to re-point Ethan Allen Tower, a monument so significant it has rarely been ignored by the city.[30]
In 1961, and after much disagreement with the city alderman, W.L. Hammond resigned after 20 years of service to the people of Burlington. With ballooning tree maintenance costs this would also be the final year of supervised play in Ethan Allen Park.[31]
By 1963, any plans for development faced a daunting "financial obstacle." Ethan Allen Park was considered to have "tremendous potential" but vandalism continued to increase as the park deteriorated.[32] By the mid-60s parks had been in a "dormant phase for many years" and additional funds would be needed to allow for catch up maintenance. Rusted fences were preservative painted and high maintenance homemade wooden bleachers were replaced with steel. In 1965 the commissioners wrote, "it will take time before Ethan Allen Park attains its rightful position as one of the finest parks in Vermont."[33]
Also in 1965, 170 trees would need to be removed, and a fundamental shift took place in the parks commissions approach to the Dutch elm problem. They finally realized there were losing the battle and from this point planting new trees became the best option.[34] By 1972, 1500 replacement trees were growing at the brand new Vermont state nursery in Essex Junction, and surely many of the trees in Ethan Allen park and around Burlington have their origins there.[35]
In 1966, with the growing popularity of camping in Burlington at North Beach, and in order to fund improvements to Ethan Allen Park, a campsite was proposed within the park grounds. However, this campsite would be turned down and a revenue generating campsite like at North Beach was never developed.[36] This may be because by 1967 a $20,000 federal project was proposed to improve Ethan Allen Park and tower, as well as to develop additional picnic and hiking facilities within the park bounds.[37] However, in 1968, the funds, which were titled as federal project 44-0057 for improvement to both South and Ethan Allen Parks, were delayed by a year,[38] and the project taken up in 1969 was considerably more modest. It did, however, provide new picnic areas, a playground, and some minor landscaping.[39]
The story of much of the last few decades has been one of simply status quo maintenance. By 1979 Burlingtonians had rated the performance of the parks commission as "good", but maintenance of the parks was a concern,[40] and through the 1990s the parks commission had limited resources and a hard time keeping up with routine maintenance.[41] Much of the active landscape change in these pictures that we observe occurred during the first half of the 20th century, and especially during the W.P.A. years of the Great Depression. The roads have obviously widened and paved at various points. The Dutch Elm epidemic caused a great deal of change as well, but perhaps the most striking and encouraging change is in the height of the trees that now shroud Ethan Allen tower from view. Ethan Allen Park, though possibly in need of some landscape manicuring, still manages to be one of the most unique and picturesque places in Burlington to this day.
Notes:
1. 1902 Annual Reports, 203.
2. Burlington Weekly Free Press, December 4th, 1902. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86072143/1902-12-04/ed-1/seq-4/
3. "Ethan Allen Farm," Burlington Weekly Free Press, December 1st, 1904. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86072143/1904-12-01/ed-1/seq-9/
4. "Ethan Allen Honored," Middlebury Register, August 18th, 1905. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn93063557/1905-08-18/ed-1/seq-1/
6. "Burlington to Buy Ethan Allen Park," Middlebury Register, January 21 1907. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn93063557/1907-06-21/ed-1/seq-10/
