The Billings Family Archives

Billings Estate

Photographs of the Billings Mansion's interior and exterior, grounds, gardens, and buildings on the historic Billings estate. Today, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is the only national park to focus on conservation history and the evolving nature of land stewardship. The park is named for George Perkins Marsh, one of the nation's first environmentalists, and Frederick Billings, an early conservationist. Billings' granddaughter, Mary French Rockefeller, and her husband, Laurance, gave the estate to the American people.

Billings Farm

Photographs of Billings farm, established by Frederick Billings in 1871, include farm workers, animals, buildings, dairy, and delivery vehicles. Additionally, there are photographs of the Aitken and Rockefeller families and others who lived and worked on the farm. Frederick Billings’ granddaughter, Mary French Rockefeller, and her husband, Laurance S. Rockefeller, continued her grandfather’s practices in forestry and farming on the property. In 1983, they established Billings Farm & Museum to continue the farm’s working dairy and interpret Vermont’s agricultural heritage.

Carleton E. Watkins

Frederick Billings' collection of Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916) photographs include mammoth prints and glass stereographs of the Yosemite Valley, New Almaden Mines, and San Francisco. Watkins's photographs helped shape America's idea of the West, visually introducing to the nation undeveloped landscapes that would be significant to the expansion of American business, finance, agriculture, government policy, and science. The photographs would influence artists and scientists and inform economies that drove west: mining, transportation, agriculture, and tourism.

Colombian Exposition, 1893

Farm manager George Aitken and the Billings family attended the World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, held in Chicago in 1893. The Fair was organized to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus's landfall in the New World. Over its six month run, the Fair drew more than 25 million visitors. It featured attractions that included elaborately designed neo-classical exhibition buildings, the world's first Ferris Wheel, and wonders of 19th century technology, art, and agriculture. Billings Farm gained national prominence with top awards for the Billings' Jersey herd.

Family Photographs

Group photographs of family and friends, formal portraits of individuals, and casual snapshots of activities and events of the Billings, French, and Rockefeller families.

Manuscripts

Original handwritten and typewritten documents relating to the Billings family and Billings Farm, as well as transcriptions of the papers.

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP Events

Presentation of the Laurance S. Rockefeller Award for Distinguished Service to Lady Bird Johnson, 1996 and the dedication of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, 1998.

Sho Nemoto

Sho Nemoto was a regular houseguest of the Billings' during the 1880s and a student with Fritz Billings at the University of Vermont between 1885 and 1889. Nemoto, from Mito, Japan, met Frederick Billings in California in 1879, and Billings arranged for him to study at his alma mater and paid his tuition. Nemoto spent his summers and school vacations with the Billings. After his graduation and a trip around the world that Frederick Billings gave him, Nemoto returned to Japan, where he entered politics and participated in Christian church work. Nemoto and the Billings maintained a long friendship, and he later referred to Frederick Billings as "my dear father in America."

Woodstock Inn

Images of the Woodstock Inn, include the opening in 1969. More images coming soon.

YWCA Posters

A collection of propaganda posters commissioned by the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) published to encourage women to support the war effort during World War I.