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1G eo g rap h y an d E n v i ro n m en t j4j

Hampshire, and Rhode Island, however,chose to remain independen t an d to this daylack any affiliation with the n ationa l organiza-

Katah din, linking their cam paign to a similarproposal for the Whi te M ounta ins. Percival P.Baxter, the scion of a family ofwealthy ph ilan-thropists, had first become interested in pre-serving Katahdin in 1903 during a fishing trip

park authority tried to balance his original vi-sion against the demands of different publicgroups. As the environm ental movem ent tooksh ap e d ur in g th e I ~ ~ O S ,he authority becameembroiled in controversy over modern ecolog-tion.Originally concerned exclusively with bird

protection, the Audubon program currentlyfocuses on much broader conservation issues.Memb er groups now take an active role in en-vironmental advocacy issues, maintain sanctu-aries and nature centers nationwide, sponsoreducational outreach opportunities, and p ub-lish journals and variou s scientific materials.0;e of the Natio nal Au dub on Society's mostvisible programs is the annual Christmas BirdCensus, an ongoing survey ofwinter bird pop-

to the region. He was elected to the sta te legis-lature in 1905 and introdu ced th e first of many

ical philosophies. Issues such as the use ofsnowmo biles, al-terrain vehicles, motorcycles,

unsuccessful bills calling for a state reserve in1919. W he n Governor Frederick H. Parkhurstdied in office in 1921, Baxter, as president ofthe Senate, succeeded him. Baxter continued

or trailers and cam pers in the park; spruce bud -worm control; salvage logging in a 510-acreblowdown that occurred in 1975; and timbercutting in th e park's Scientific Forest Mana ge-

to prom ote the park con cept until he left officein 1925.

ment Area led to a fascinating if sometimesacrimonious dialogue over the meaning of

In 1930 Baxter purchased 6,000 acres oftimberland, including Katahdin, from GreatNorthern Paper Company and deeded it tothe state. It was designated Baxter State Park

wilderness n an eastern context. In recent years,serious concern over acid rain damage to the

ulations that has been con ducted since 1900.Land protection is an especially impo rtant

function of the Audubon movement. TheMassachusetts A udub on Society, for example,protects more than z8,ooo acres in that state;several other states also have extensive acreageunder Audub on stewardship. This continuinglegacy of bird protection and conservationmakes the Audubon movement one of the

forest and lakes has been added to this list.John W. Hakola, Legay of a Ljfetime: The Story of'Baxter State Par& (1981); Henry David Thoreau, Th eMai ne Woods(1909).

R ic h a rd W u d d

in 1931. Baxter continued purchasing landaround the peak, deeding the parcels to thestate as soon as each title was clear. Since tim-berlands were held in common and undivided

Berkshires Th e Berkshire area of westernMassachusetts includes Berkshire Co unt y andthe Berkshire Hills. It is delineated on three

interests by a number of owners, includingmultiple heirs of the original landowners, ne-gotiations were complex. Baxter completedthe last purchase of 7,764 acres in the sum merldest and most imp ortant environm ental ini-

tiatives in the U nited States.sides by state borders-Vermont to the north,New York to the west, and Connecticut to thesouth; the eastern border is topographical, bu t

of 1962, finally realizing his dream of a vastwilderness park at age 87. Baxter's practice ofFrank Graham, The Audubon Ark: A History of the

NationalAud71bon Society (1990);Christopher Leahy,John Hanson Mitchell, and Thomas Conuel, Th eNature .f~Massachusetts 1996).

W a y n eR. Petersen

deed ing over individual parcels as he acquiredthem created a variety of management prob-lems. Th e land was to be "forever. . eft in thenatural wild state," but over the three decades

no less distinct. Head ing west from the no rth-south m eanderings of the Co nnectic ut River,the fertile lowlands of tobacco fields in the Pi-oneer Valley are quickly left behind, and theland rises abruptly into th e rocky foothills ofthe Appalachians. This so-called Berkshire

durin g which the deeds of trust were drafted,Baxter altered specific regulations to accom-axter State Park Baxter State Park, awilderness preserve of 201,018 acres, surround s

5,271-foot Mount Katahdin, Maine's highestmodate local pressures, various landowners'conditions, and his own changing attitudes

Barrier slowed western colonial expansioninto the region for l oo years. Berkshire retains

mountain and the northern terminus of theAppalachian Trail. The park is located zomiles northwest o f MiUinocket in east central

toward park use. Vacillations regarding forestmanagem ent, roads, firearms, snowmobiling,hunting and trapping, aircraft, and predator

a remoteness today, if not in travel time tonearby cities, then in the insular tendencyamo ng the venerable "Berkshirite."

Independent minds, personal expression,and individualism are well-entrenched ingre-dients in the culture of Berkshire. For in-

Maine and contains an outstanding diversityof wildlife, plants, an d landform s. Katahdin, elimination he le d incessant controversy.The Appalachian Mountain Club servedmeaning "main mountain," was important toAbenaki legend as home to the malevolentspirit Pamola and had been climbed only a fewtimes when He nry David Thoreau compiledhis vivid acco unt o f a partia l ascen t in 1846. Adistinctive feature of Katahdin is its glacialbasin, along the edge ofwh ich the Knife EdgeTrail proceeds to Baxter Peak, the highest ofKatahdin's several summits. The mountain'smystique was enhance d by a rich folklore of

the par k by sponsoring annual excursions andmarking and maintaining trails. During the1930s the Civilian Conservation Corp s main-tained roads an d built parking areas, shelters,fireplaces, and latrines. The National ParkService periodically considered federal pur-

stance, it comes as no surprise th at the Berk-shire Convention of 1774 voted to boycottBritish-made goods, am ong the first such de-crees in the colonies. Likewise, most Berkshiretowns still use the time-honored "town meet-ing" form of governm ent where local citizensconvene to debate and vote on town business.

chases in the region, a threat that left land--owners more favorably inclined toward Baxterand forced the people of Maine to face thechallenge of managing the park In the late1930s state funds were allocated to hire a

Any voting citizen may address the me eting,and people certainly do so, often at length, de-spite obviously holding a minority opinion.Although the total population of Berkshirehas never exceeded 15o,ooo, and some of itstowns reached their peak populations lon g be-fore 1900, the effect of a succession of singularpersonalities, plus distinct and ev olving places,has been particularly formative to Berkshire

logging and river driving on the PenobscotRiver's West Branch. Theodore Winthrop'sLife i n t h e O p e n Air (1876) and Frederic E.Church's paintings added to the mountain'sreputation. Construction of the Bangor andAroostook Railroad at the turn o f the centuryfacilitated access to the mountain. and the rail-

ranger, and the park was put under joint su-pervision of the state forest commissioner, thecommissioner of inland fisheries and game,and the attorney general. With meager stateappropriations, administration languished,but wh en Baxter died i n 1969 his bequest for aroad promoted wilderness recreation through

its annual guide ,In t h e M a i n e W oo ds .In 1905 the Main e Federation o f Women's

Clubs proposed a federal forest reserve around

Maintenance and Improvement Fun d becameavailable. A small but dedicated staff met thechallenge of preservation and public use.

In the years following Baxter's death the

culture.Nineteenth-century Berkshire saw the pro-

liferation of industry-tanning, glass, iron ,paper, and textiles-in the towns dot ting the

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546 Geographyand Environmenthills and waterways. In 1801, Zenas Cranestarted a paper mill and contracted with the.U.S. government to supply the special paperrequired fo r currency stock. Such was his suc-cess that both the family ownership and thecontract con tinu e to this day.In t he mid-19th century, drawn by the pas-toral landscape, Berkshire became the homeof Nathaniel Hawthorne, who wrote T h eHouse of Seven Gables there, and HermanMelville as he worked o n Moby-Dick . Melvillepurp orted ly was inspired as he gazed from hiswindow by a silhouette of a whale formed byth e slopes of nearby Mount Greylock, thehighest peaki n the Berkshire Hills. Oth er lit-erary greats soon followed, establishing a liter-ary legacy in th e area.Among Hawthorne's and Melville's friendswas Samuel G.Ward, a wealthy man who be-came a summer resident of Berkshire starting.-in 1846. T h e area's favorable summer climateand ease of access by rail from Boston, NewYork, and Har tfo rd, led to th e "cottage era"-anot her key to Berkshire culture. Bridging th egap between social prominence and literaryimportance was Edith Wha rton, author oftheAge o f lnnocence and the first woman to win thePulitzer Prize. Wha rto n became a Berkshire"cottager" in 1901.Th e Carnegies, the V ander-bilts, and others also built and played in thearea. The days of the "Inland Newport" arenow long past, but the resort status of Berk-shire continues.By the 193os, the next great period of Berk-shire was beginning to flower, bringing leisurepursuits and entertainmen t of the highest or-der to the emerging middle class. he snowywinters and gentle hills of the Berkshire Hillswere ideal for th e new sport of skiing. Facili-ties were pioneered on Berkshire slopes, andthe area became busy with skiers taking ad-vantage of th e landscape in a new way.Under the direction and vision of SergeKoussevitzky, the Boston Symph ony Orches-.tra established a great musical institution onthe land once occupied by Samuel Ward'ssummer estate. Th e Berkshire Music Festivalin Tanglewood, Mass., has become a world-class attraction where audiences enjoy excel-lent m usic in an outdo or setting. Tanglewoodhas become synonymous with musical greatssuch as Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein,Seiji Ozaw a, and John Williams.Through these changes, Berkshire culturehas been adept a t adaptation and preservation.Some of the early cottages were razed, andsome have remained private residences; butothers have found new life as schools or healthcenters . Edith W harton's home, The Moun t,was saved from the wrecking ball by directorand actress Tina Packer. 1; the iq7os she

speare & Company, which performed theateroutdoors on the grounds of Th e M ount formore than 20 years before moving down thestreet to another former cottage, allowing theproperty to be transformed yet again into aWharton museum. In the ~g gos , he Gug-genheim Museum, searching for a site forits oversized collection of contemporary art,transform ed some long-disused an d massivelyscaled 19th-century Berkshire textile millsinto stunning display space. The result is apostmodern mix of old and new: high-techfilm and computer companies flourish along-side art galleries, all housed within the ram-bling manufacturing space of a now vanishedera.Modern mentalities may encourage shortmemories and emphasize rapid change, butBerkshire culture runs counter to both. TheBerkshire area, just 49 miles no rth t o southand ranging from only 12 to 24 miles inbreadth, Iemains distinct. Owin g to its uniquelandscape, small population, and the histo ry ofvisionary individuals, Berkshire remains a re-silient, vibrant, and un ique cultural realm.Sa m Bittman and Steven A Satullo, eds., Berkrhire:Seasonr of Celebration (1981); Carole Owens, Th eBerRrhire C ottages:A Vanishing Era (1984); RoderickPeattie, ed., The BerRrhirer (1948); Richard Wilkie,HistoricalAtlar .fMarrachusettr (1991).

George RobersonBird's-Eye -ews Bird's-eye views areaerial landscape perspective drawings of set-tlements, generally cities, towns, and villages,published by itinerant graphic artists largelyduring the 19th century. Th ey show the gen-eral spatial structure of these urban places by

depicting streets, buildin@, landmarks, andland uses seen obliquely from an imaginaryvantage point high above and just beyond thetown. Most of the surviving prints of NewEngland localities, nearly 800 in number andcovering just over 500 different p laces, armonochrome lithographs prepared from pencil-and-ink drafts, though many contain color wash for accent and a few are polychrome. Whiie they range in size from bookillustrations to large, framed wall panoramastheir usual size approximates 19 by 25 inchesTh ey were produced for local sale by advancsubscription, with artists soliciting sales directly or through a paid agent .The artist madea view by renderin g the town's general layouin perspective on a master drawing and thenfilling it with simplified representations of thebuildings previously sketched from the stree ta process whose duration ranged from a fewdays to a few weeks, depend ing on th e size andcomplexity of the tow n and th e artist's skill.The genre enjoyed national appeal from1835 to 1915 because li thog raph y b rou gh t landscape art in this form, priced between 61.50and $3.00, within reach of the broad middleclass. As parlor decorations and public ad-vertisements, bird's-eye views portrayed theunique urban character that a community hadachieved at the time of printing. I n additionmarginal vignettes and numerically indexedfeatures in the main view highlighted manybusinesses, institutions, and prominent resi-dences that swelled personal and local pride

Bird's-eye views had their roots in the low-angle perspective drawings o f large towns created durin g the 18th century, such as the L on-don-engraved prospects of Boston produced

founded a professional theater group, Shake- Bz7di-eye wzew ofB7 unswzch and Topsham,Mazne,i877