Vermont Arbor Day Proclamations A Peek Though the Trees
VERMONT’S ARBOR DAY WAS STARTED IN 1885 WHEN ON APRIL 15TH, GOVERNOR SAMUEL E. PINGREE ISSUED A PROCLAMATION MAKING FRIDAY, MAY 1ST VERMONT’S FIRST ARBOR DAY.
Governor Samuel E. Pingree, 40th Governor of Vermont
Most of early Vermont was deforested to create grazing areas for sheep, to provide timber and for other industries. By the late 19th century, these industries left a bare landscape, prompting the desire to reforest Vermont.
Vermonters wanted to reforest Vermont for aesthetic, economic, and moral reasons.
“the rehabilitation of unsightly stretches of rocky hillsides and briery or brake-infested dells, the beautifying of towns and villages, contribute directly to the material wealth of the state, and have their bearings on the moral qualities of the people.” -The vermont Watchman, april 1, 1885
for many years, the Governor of Vermont issued a proclamation creating an Arbor Day to encourage Vermonter's interest in nature. Each proclamation emphasizes reasons that trees are of importance to Vermont.
Beauty
Early Arbor Day proclamations emphasize Vermont's physical landscape and the role that trees play in making it pleasing to the eye. (Click on the proclamations to enlarge.)
Economy
The economic value of Vermont's flora and fauna was particularly emphasized during the proclamations in the years approaching and during the First World War. (Click on the proclamations to enlarge.)
Moral Obligation
The moral value of trees was emphasized in proclamations such as the one from 1904 that was issued during the Progressive Era during which there was a strong emphasis on social activism and political reform.
“The love of Vermonters for trees and groves should show itself along every thoroughfare and wayside; upon the village green and city park; around the school-house and around the academy; the grounds of the home should be tastefully adorned with the maple, the oak and the elm, and thereby made scenes of lovelier memories; the church, too, should be reached through their pleasant and inspiring shades; and the ‘God’s acre,’ where we shall all soon sleep with our beloved ones, should not remain neglected of these adornments of nature that form the finest drapery that hallows the earth.”-The Vermont watchman, April 15th, 1885
This Arbor Day exhibit was created by Perri Moreno during an internship in Special Collections, University of Vermont, April 2016.
Created with image by valiunic - "green park season"
Other images from Special Collections, University of Vermont