Many GMCers have long felt that the story of the Green Mountain Club should be preserved so that it can be told to future generations.

It is to this end that the GMC History and Book Committee has been established. Its members have begun collecting, preserving and will soon publish the story of the Club’s illustrious past.

The History Of The Burlington Section has been written by Marion Holmes as her contribution to the History and Book Committee’s work. It will eventually be included in the comprehensive history of the GMC which is currently being prepared for publication.

Marion has relied upon documents which have been contributed to the Club as well as personal recollections of members. It is hoped that the distri­bution of the Burlington History at this time will inspire others to share their personal recollections and encourage them to contribute photos, maps, newspaper clippings or other items which may have historical significance.

On that historic day of March 11, 1910 when James P. Taylor called together 23 citizens of Vermont in the sample room of the Van Ness House in Burlington to found the Green Mountain Club, seven of those present were recorded as residents of Burlington: Seneca Haselton, C.W. Brownell, J.L. Southwick, J.E. Tracy, M.D. Chittenden, Clarence P. Cowles, and Edward K. Allen. Judge Haselton was elected to serve as Vice President of the Club and Honorable C. W. Brownell as Treasurer. Although early records have disappeared, it may be assumed that these men were the nucleus of the Burlington Section.

In a letter from Mr. Taylor to Mr. Cowles on May 11, he asked, “How fares the Burlington Section of the Green Mountain Club?” and Mr. Cowles replied on May 16, “There has been ‘nothing doing’ thus far that I know of toward the organization of the Burlington section.” He goes on to explain that Mr. Brownell “seems to be too busy” and that Judge Haselton is “attending Supreme Court in Montpelier. ” He says that, “It strikes me that some one individual should take hold of this matter and push it along. I feel sure that I am not the one to do that, but I would push all I could.” And “push” he must have, for on August 16, 1910, the  Mansfield Section at Burlington was organized with ten members and Judge Cowles was later referred to as the founder of the Section. On September 19 of that year, Mr. Cowles states in a letter that, “We have 55 members to date here in Burlington.”

The second annual meeting of the Green Mountain Club was called together in Stowe on June 10, 1911 by President Taylor. The minutes of that meeting list among those present: Mr. Harry G. Burrough, president of the Mansfield Section, and Dr. L. J. Paris of the Mansfield Section. Judge Seneca Haselton of the Burlington Section was re-elected vice president and Fred. F. Smith of Burlington was elected to serve as secretary. Dr. L. J. Paris of Burlington was appointed by President Taylor to serve as Membership chairman and Mr. W. S. Carpenter of Burlington as Publicity chairman.

On October 14, 1916, at the reorganization meeting, the question of whether to keep the Section alive was answered in the affirmative, the Mount Mansfield Section became the Burlington Section, the section was entirely reorganized with a new constitution and a woman, Miss Joanna Croft, was elected president. (Through the foresight of Clarence and Laura Cowles, the record books of the section which begin with this meeting and continue to the January 1927 meeting, along with newspaper clippings and other interesting historical material relating to the section and the main Club, were placed on microfilm arid are in the Library of the University of Vermont where they make fascinating reading to any one interested in the early days of the Club. The originals were deposited with the Vermont Historical Society.) The basic organization of the section has changed little since the reorganization of 1916 when, in addition to the customary officers, committees were set up for Entertainment, Membership, Outings, Publicity, and Trails and Shelters. Annual adult dues were set as $1 at that time. Increased to $3 in 1960 and to$ 6 in 1974 reflect both the financial condition of the country and the increasing responsibilities of the Green Mountain Club.

An interesting aspect of the organization of the section was the decision to admit women to the membership at a time when women’s place was in the home and when the long skirts and other customary garb were hardly adapted to strenuous hiking and winter sports. As late as 1920, the Guide Book states that “women should not wear skirts, even divided skirts; riding breeches are advised” and that “even women” should take at least a belt hatchet. And so, it seems quite amazing that Miss Joanna Croft was elected president of the section in 1916 and again in 1917, to be followed in 1918 and 1919 by Mrs. Laura G. Cowles, and later by other women. Mrs. Cowles was characterized by her husband as “a pioneer in opening the Green Mountains for the recreation of women as well as men, in winter as well as summer” and as the first lady to snowshoe to the top of Mt. Mansfield. Miss Shirley Strong who was section president in 1965 and 1966 went on to set another first when she became the first woman president of the main Club. And another milestone in “women’s lib” was reached when girls served as caretakers at Taft Lodge in 1972 and 1973.

Membership in the Burlington section has gone from the original ten to around 700 in 1974. The official figures of 628 in 1972 was stated to be a gain of 190% in ten years.

A listing of people who have been active in the section poses the danger of omission of others who have made equal contributions. There is a tendency to’ give special emphasis to the place of early leader and to long years of service and to fail to recognize the importance of those who have given themselves to the tasks of the Club within recent years. And so, the following sketches are offered as a sampling and as a tribute to those mentioned with the understanding that the limits of space and available information are responsible for the non-mention of many others. It is hoped that the collection of the history of the section will be an ongoing project with additions made to the information collected. And it should be realized that the brief sketches which follow could be expanded many-fold to cover the full lives of those listed. 

Clarence P. Cowles: Charter member of the GMC and founder of the Burlington section in 1910. Active in locating the Long Trail and in its building, especially in the section from Mansfield to Camel’s Hump. Active hiker and mountaineer even before the founding of the Club. Promoter of the GMC well beyond the Burlington area with a sense of history so that he preserved records which are now priceless. Made a life member of the Burlington section in 1960. Died, as he would have had it be, at the age of 87, while on a Burlington section snowshoe hike to Wiley Lodge on March 17, 1963.

Laura Golden Cowles: As stated above, a pioneer in opening opportunities to women to participate in and enjoy the activities of the Green Mountain Club. Early president of the Burlington section. Mother and grandmother of men who participated actively in the Club and who laid out and improved the trail to the top of Mt. Mansfield which is named in her honor. Died in 1958

Kent R. B. Flint: Resident of Northfield, he was the last survivor among the charter members of the GMC. He was made a life member of the Burlington Section in 1960.

Dr. Louis J. Paris: One of the wheel horses in the work of building up the GMC when it was young and feeble. One of the earliest to join, he served as trustee and treasurer and corresponding secretary for many years. He addressed audiences, and wrote in­ numerable letters and articles which contributed great to building a strong organization.

Professor Louis B. Puffer: A longtime trustee and a president of the GMC as well as president of the Burlington section. With Roy Buchanan, a leader of countless hikes in the Green Mountains and in the Adirondacks where they were early members of the ADK 46ers. Former editor of the Long Trail News. Honored by the naming of Puffer Lodge.

Theron S. Dean: Member of the Burlington section and chairman of the Publicity committee of the GMC. He collected an exceptionally fine lot of color, slides covering the most picturesque sections of the Green Mountains and by means of pictures and story, he brought the salient aims and purposes of the Club to several thousand people. During the year 1918, he gave 23 lectures to audiences in various parts of Vermont and Massachusetts. His work was generally conceded to be one of the best forms of propaganda that the Club has undertaken.

Professor Roy O. Buchanan: Our “Mr. Green Mountain Club”. Head of the Long Trail Patrol for 36 years until his retirement in 1967. Builder of 37 Long Trail shelters. Inspiration to many young men who worked on the Patrol and went on to become leaders in the affairs of the Club. In 1930, with his brother Bruce and son Chester, he laid out the final section of the Long Trail from Jay Peak to marker 592 on the Canadian border because, as he says, they were tired of reading about a trail which went almost from Massachusetts to Canada. Humorist and storyteller without peer. “End-to-ender” times without number and early member of the ADK 46ers. President of the main Club and Honorary Trustee. Made a life member of Burlington section in 1960. Honored by naming of Buchanan Mountain and Buchanan Lodge. The 50th Anniversary Guide Book dedicated to him and his wife Helen. In 1974 still an active participant in the activities of section and main Club at the age of 92.

The Burlington section has over the years assumed the responsibility for the Long Trail from the Winooski River to Smugglers Notch (23. 9 miles); for six shelters: Duck Brook, Bolton, Puffer, Taylor, Butler and Taft; and for the following side trails (32. 3 miles): Lake Mansfield, Nebraska Notch, Sunset Ridge, Hell Brook, Bear Pond, Butler Lodge, Maple Ridge, Haselton, Halfway House, Clara Bow, Forehead Bypass, Laura Cowles (for the maintenance of which the Cowles family has assumed a great deal of responsibility), Wallace Cut-off, Wampahoofus, Rock Garden, Cliff, Profanity, Story, Cantilever Rock, Adam’s Apple and Hell Brook Cut­-off. That such a task can be accomplished by volunteer labor attests to the devotion of the members of the section.

The earliest of the shelters maintained by the Burlington section is Taft Lodge , built in 1920. The Lodge was a gift of Elihu B. Taft, a lawyer of Burlington and a lifelong lover of the mountains who had climbed in the Alps, Sierras, and White Mountains as well as his own familiar Green Mountains. The Lodge is a log structure of 30 foot length and 14 foot width, built for a capacity of 32. It was built under the supervision of Judge Cowles who made 27 trips up to the site while construction was going on. In 1941, the cabin had begun to show age after the storms of 21 years; so a gang from Burlington went to work. Jacks, cable drills, hammers and steel pegs were packed up over the Sunset Ridge Trail and the cabin pulled back to a standing position and anchored to the ledges of the mountain. Caretaker Daan Zwick  packed rolls of roofing across the ridge of Mansfield from the Hotel and down Profanity, on some trips carrying 120 pounds to the load. Once again, Taft Lodge stood strong. In another 21 years, it once again showed signs of age and again was extensively repaired, this time by the Long Trail Patrol. As a most recent record of refurbishing, 24 industrial arts students from the Hinesburg Middle School constructed a new outhouse in 1972.

The original Taylor Lodge was built in 1927 and named in honor of James P. Taylor. During Christmas vacation in 1950, a group of boys who stayed there, and became cold, tried to burn mattresses for fuel and started a fire which burned the Lodge to the ground. Roy Buchanan, in his capacity as head of the Long Trail Patrol and chief cabin maker (he used a cake tin with some water in it as a level), his chief assistants Don Havens and Jake Bailey, and many others part-time, built the present cabin during the summer of 1951. In the words of Harold Collins, then president of the section, “On a cold, miserable, dark, cloudy, foggy and rainy day, on October 29, 1974 hikers went in to participate in the dedication of the ‘new’ Taylor Lodge with the youngest, Rod Rice Jr. , at age 11-months, riding on his father’s back and the oldest, Frank Post, age 76. A significant part of the dedication was a gift shower. There were gifts of frying pans, other pots and pans, axes, saws, pails, brooms, dust pans and just about everything one needed to keep house. They were all new gifts and everyone brought something.”

One of the earliest shelters on the section of trail maintained by the Burlington section was built in the Bolton area in 1919. The Burlington Free Press on July 11 of that year reported that “Mr. and Mrs. Ralph W. Dunsmoor of the Burlington Section of the Green Mountain Club have recently built a new lodge on Bolton Mountain as their gift to the Club. It is on the Long Trail, 6-1/4 miles north of the Bolton Village and commands a beautiful view of valley and mountains.” The 1920 Guide Book describes it as “an open camp with stove, simple cooking utensils and bunks, permanent water being found in two brooks within 150 yards.” It was 1. 2 miles from the summit of Bolton Mountain. Dunsmoor Lodge is no longer in existence. In 1928, the present Bolton Lodge was built by the Burlington section under the supervision of Dr. E.G. Twitchell and Ernest E. Smith. The site, 3-1/2 miles from the Bolton station, was on what was called the Old Coe Brass Company property. The building was under construction for five weeks and was considered one of the finest on the Trail. It is a closed lodge with stone and stucco exterior in an old clearing with a fine outlook toward Camel’s Hump.

At its annual meeting in 1932 , the Burlington section received a communication from Mr. Albert B. Butler of Burlington offering to give the club a sum of money sufficient to erect a lodge on the Long Trail, comparable to Bolton and Taylor. The new lodge would be known as the Mabel Taylor Butler Lodge in memory of his wife who had been a member of the section an an ardent hiker in the Green Mountains. Following acceptance of this generous gift, the Long Trail Patron in 1933, completed the erection of Butler Lodge, a fine, closed, log building in a location unsurpassed in sightliness.

Puffer Lodge was erected in 1954 by the Long Trail Patrol for the Burlington section and was at the time one of the best structures on the Long Trail. It was named for Professor Louis B. Puffer of the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Vermont had served both the section and the main Club in man capacities.

The newest shelter of the Burlington section is Duck Brook, an open front frame shelter built by the Long Trail Patrol in 1966. With the Long Trail relocation to cross the Winooski River at Jonesville, the distance between Wiley Camp and Bolton Lodge proved t be too great for a comfortable day’s trip and the need for an additional shelter was seen. After considerable time was spent in determining who owned the land on which it was desired to build and in obtaining the necessary permission, the Patrol went to work with additional assistance from Roy Buchanan’s son Chester and his grandson. The shelter was completed between a Tuesday morning and Saturday noon which, according to Roy, was the shortest time the Patrol had taken to build such a cabin. The original name of Cascade Shelter soon became Duck Brook in recognition of the beautiful stream beside which it sits. It is of interest to note the cost of Duck Brook was approximately $575 as compared with less than $150 for Barrows, a similar structure built in 1931.

In 1964, the Burlington section acquired the use of another building when Mr. Craig Burt of Stowe, an early member of the section, leased to the club the Stem Cabin in Ranch Valley to the south of Mt. Mansfield. This was a snug building used for a number of years for many outings, especially in winter, until the problems of maintaining it along with other responsibilities of the section made it seem wise to abandon the lease.

‘The making of the Long Trail in that section supervised by the Burlington section could not be told better than in the words of Dr. Lewis Paris, written many years ago. He wrote:

Mr. Clarence P. Cowles of Burlington and Mr. Craig O. Burt of Stowe, on October 1 , 1910 started south from the Summit House on Mt. Mans­field to locate a trail from the summit to Nebraska Notch. A trail was already in existence to the Forehead but a series of cliffs south of the Forehead made it impossible to make use of this two miles of ready-made trail as the beginning of a through route. The finding of a new route which would avoid these cliffs was not such an easy matter on this wild and ruggced mountain, and three exploratory trips were made before the route of the trail was finally located. Owing to the lateness of the season, nothing was actually accomplished but the locating of the trail, though subsequent experience has shown that a well-located route for a trail is a most important step in trail making. The season closed with this practical demonstration that interest in the mountains could be awakened.

The Season of 1911, This was a year of accomplishment in trail making for at the close of the season there was a through trail from the summit of Camel’s Hump to Smugglers Notch, a distance of twenty-nine miles.

After describing the locating of the trail from Bolton to Camel’s Hump, Dr. Paris gives this account of the 1911 activities on the present Burlington section portion of the Long Trail:

The next portion of the Long Trail to be opened was the trail up Mt. Mansfield from Nebraska Notch. To many, this beautiful mountain pass is unknown even as a name. It divides the main ridge between Bolton Mountain and Mt. Mansfield. Years ago, a county road traversed the Notch and gave outlet from the Stowe Valley to Burlington. Ox teams hauled farm produce over the mountain to Burlington via Underhill and Jericho, returning with merchandise. The coming of the railroad ended this use of the road, and it has been practically abandoned as a road for many years. There is a persistency, however, about a road or even a trail when once well established which endures decades of neglect, and the road through Nebraska Notch remains a visible though sadly neglected road. It will always be a most interesting approach to the Long Trail and is reached from Underhill via Stevensville on the west, and from Moscow from the east. The trail follows this road west from the Lake Mansfield Trout Club at the east end of the Notch, in two miles crossing the crown of the pass. Here the trail proper turns north, following the west side of a spur of Mt. Mansfield for three miles, overlooking Underhill Valley. Just south of the Forehead, the trail crosses to the east side of the ridge, and begins its ascent of the terraces below the Forehead. One of the most picturesque features of the trail now is found, as the route lies along a bench on the face of a high cliff which towers above and drops off one hundred fifty feet or more below. The bench is amply wide and grows up with large trees, through whose foliage open up beautiful vistas down the Stowe Valley and across to the Worcester Mountains. From here the trail climbs the east side of the Forehead on a long, easy slant, arriving at the crest of the ridge just south of the Nose, not a quarter of a mile from the Summit House, the distance from the Trout Club being eight miles.

The first trip across Bolton Mountain to locate a trail was also made in October 1910 by Mr. Cowles and Mr. Burt. Starting from the Nebraska Notch road near the Trout Club, the route lies along an old logging road nearly to the summit of Mt. Admiral Clarke, one of the outlaying peaks of the mass of Bolton Mountain, the trail then winds up the slope of Bolton Mountain and arrives at the summit, four miles. Some judicious lumbering on the heavily wooded summit would improve the situation by opening up some fine views of Mt. Mans­field and Camel’s Hump. The trail continues south from the summit soon finding Bolton Brook which it follows to the Winooski River. Two miles down the trail an abandoned lumber camp known as Camp No 4 offers shelter, and two miles below this are found the mill and buildings of a lumber company now closed. From this point a woo_d road leads to the village of Bolton, four miles.

Another particularly valuable bit of trail was added to the Long Trail this season. The distance from the Summit House on Mt. Mansfield to the Big Spring in Smugglers Notch, by road, is from eight to nine miles. From the Chine one could almost fall into Smugglers Notch Brook, dropping two thousand feet in less than a mile. The facilities for descent are so exceptionally good that the route by this brook to Smugglers Notch has, in full accord with classical tradition, been named the Hell Brook Trail. The desirability of an easier trail to the wild and rugged pass had imporessed Judge Seneca Haselton, a Vice-President of the Green Mountain Club so tht, as his personal contribution to the Long Trail, had a trail cut from the summit down into Smugglers Notch. The trail leaves teh road to Stowe, a half mile below teh summit, and clinging high under teh Barnes Camp, three miles, which is one and one-quarter miles east of Big Spring.

The season of 911 ended with twenty-nine miles of continuous trail as teh beginning of the Lont Trail. Not a large mileage but a highly useful contribution. Mt. Mansfield and Camle’s Hump were connected. New approaches made to both o these peaks and new regions like Bolton Mountain and Nebraska Notch made accessible, and not the least, teh trail to Smugglers Notch which was falling into neglect. The important fact, however that a beginning had been made, and the first step in opening up the Green Mountains that had been made in years was successful.

This is only the beginning of the story of the trails in the Mansfield-Bolton section. One could continue with accounts of improvements and relocations, the building of new side trails, the fact that this section has the highest point on the whole Long Trail (the summit of Mt. Mansfield) and the lowest point (the Winooski River), that the Bear Pond Trail includes the steepest half mile of trail to be found in Vermont, the discovery in 1960 by Clyde Smith of Cantilever Rock which is a rare geological formation on the west side of Mansfield, and the story of the Winooski River rowboat whose demise meant that the Long Trail had to be relocated for several miles in order to cross the river by the Jonesville bridge. The history of the Mt. Mansfield Summit House which closed in 1964 after many years of hospitality to mountain lovers, the story of the ski development and its affect on the mountain and the Long Trail, the recurring proposals for a Green Mountain Parkway which Green Mountain Clubbers watched with alarm – all would make interesting studies. Most important, in thinking about the trails and shelters maintained by the Burlington section, is the realization that, from 1910 to the present, members of the section have given freely of their time, strength and resources to build and maintain this unique feature of Vermont and, in so doing, have greatly enriched their own lives.

Although “work parties” have been and will continue to be a big part of the program of the section, the hikes, camping trips and social occasions make up a major part of the activities. Although transportation, clothing, food and equipment have changed greatly since 1910, the spirit remains the same and present-day members would feel “at home” on such an expedition as that described in the Burlington Free Press in 1920 in which 71 explorers armed with snowshoes and skis invaded Smuggler’s Notch, “breathed the mountain air on a typical winter day and Shouted with Joy”. The occasion was one of the annual Washington’s Birthday celebrations of the section. The party left Burlington by train at 6:45 a.m. and, on arriving at Jeffersonville, found six large teams of horses waiting to take everybody to Morse’s Mills. The snow had drifted so badly that it took two hours to get the entire group to the mills, where the real hiking began. At the foot of Dead Horse Hill, part of the group stopped while those who were determined to go through to the big spring in the heart of the Notch pressed on. About half the party, including half a dozen ladies, reached the spring where they found a good fire waiting for them, kindled by Clarence Cowles, Herbert Congdon of the New York section and L.L. Little of “Outing” magazine who had slept two nights on Mt. Mansfield When the party had returned to Jeffersonville, “the best part of the trip for many was the appetizing beefsteak supper served at the Hotel Melendy.” Finally, at 9:45 p.m. the train arrived back in Burlington where the report was made that “it was a great day. “

Other annual events which have proved memorable over the years have been New Year’s Eve trips, winter expeditions to Camel’s Hump or Nebraska Notch, Halloween and Maple Sugar parties, corn roasts, Annual Meetings and, perhaps above the Oyster Stews. Harold Collins wrote the following description of the latter event in 1974 to be read as a tribute to Don and Bev Remick: “At about the time of the dedication (of ‘new’  Taylor Lodge), some of us began talking about how nice it would be to have: a snowshoe hike in there, have supper and hike out after dark with lanterns and flashlights. The idea, caught on and the first oyster supper at Taylor Lodge was held on February 2, 1952 with 30 present and Don and Bev in charge. Don was then a senior at, UVM and Bev a junior. They now have a son ready to enter college next fall. There has been an oyster supper held every year since with one exception. Bev has been in on every supper held and Don missed one while he was in the service. There have been, including this one, 22 oyster suppers, Bev has been in charge of every one and Don has been co-host in 21 of them. The second one was held on February l, 1953 with 23 present. This was a cold one. Larry Dean had his thermometer with him and it registered 8 degrees below zero when we left to come home around 7:30 p.m. Over a period of 22 years, there has been all kinds of weather; you name it cold, warm-, ice, rain, snow, no snow to speak of and so much that the lead person on snowshoes would change every few yards. After several years the crowds became tremendous, seemingly they came from all over the northern part of the state. There was no place to sit down and you stood up supporting each other almost like sardines in a can. It is good that this phase has passed and only members of the Burlington section participate.

The Burlington section has always been an active hiking group with its printed hike schedule often listing as many as two events on each weekend As well as covering almost every section of the mountains of Vermont, many trips – some of as much as a week’s duration – have been taken to the Adirondacks, the White Mountains, Mt. Katahdin and other sections of Maine, Algonquin Park in Canada, the Catskills, and even the Grand Canyon and the Cascade Mountains of the State of Washington. There is usually at least one canoe trip on each schedule and, in this activity, ample inspiration has come from Dr. Homer Dodge, section member and famous canoeist. He holds many records, having been the first man to run the wild water of the Long Sault Rapids in the St. Lawrence in an open canoe, having shot some of the wildest rapids of the Colorado and other western rivers, and at the age of 85 still competing in the Hudson River White Water Derby. Many Burlington section members are “End-to-Enders” on the Long Trail, others are “ADK 46ers” who have climbed the 46 4000-foot peaks in the Adirondacks, some New Hampshire and New England 4000-footers, and a few are members of the 111 Club who have climbed all 4000-foot peaks in New England and New York State. Among the young members, Alan and Barbara Briggs became End-to-Enders at the ages of five and eight respectively, and Amanda Smith completed the New Hampshire 4000-foot peaks at the age of ten.

To the Burlington section, perhaps, can go credit for the now popular Intersectional camp weeks of the Green Mountain Club. After the Burlington group had enjoyed three 9-day “August Camps” , one year in the Adirondacks, another in the White Mountains and the third at Mt. Katahdin, President George Saunders recommended in the Long Trail News that the main Club adopt the idea. And so the first GMC Intersectional was held in 1960, the 50th anniversary year, at the Mt. Norris Scout Reservation at Lake Eden under the sponsor ship of the Burlington section and with 199 in attendance.

The section also took an active part in the erection of a typical Long Trail shelter as a part of the exhibits at the Roundup of the Girl Scouts of America which was held at Button Bay on Lake Champlain in 1962 and attracted visitors from all parts of this country and abroad. The shelter was moved later to the Long Trail and became the “new” Wiley Lodge on the relocated trail south of Robbins Mountain.

This account of the sixty-four year history of the Burlington section could be greatly expanded to give more information about people who have played an active part during the years and to give more details of the diverse activities and responsibilities of the group. It is hoped it will serve to give a general idea of the history and to encourage the continued recording of past events and people.