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43-522: The Walden Woods and Walden Pond are known for their association with the writer Henry David Thoreau who lived by the shore of Walden Pond and was inspired by the environment there in his writings. In 1989, two commercial development projects were proposed within Walden Woods at Bear Garden Hill and Brister's Hill. Although 60% of Walden Woods was already protected, the threat of encroaching development in Walden Woods prompted grassroots organizers to oppose

86-648: A 25-acre site on Bear Garden Hill, was bought in January 1991 costing $ 3.55 million. Another 25 acres at Boiling Spring was purchased for $ 1.25 million in April 1992, an 18.6-acre site on Brister's hill for $ 3.5 million in May 1993, 18 acres at Pine Hill in July 1994 for $ 1.2 million, and 10 acres at Fair Haven Hill for $ 900,000 in December 1995. The land acquired for preservation totaled 96 acres in

129-657: A new location for the thwarted housing development planned. They later paid for the appraisal and environmental assessment on a 12-acre site in West Concord, which in 2013 was transferred to the Concord Housing Development Corporation. The project's headquarters were moved from Boston to Lincoln, MA , in 1997, and in 1998 the Thoreau Institute officially opened. Today the WWP manages nearly 170 acres across

172-440: A ramped footpath descends from that roadway to the pond. The writer, transcendentalist , and philosopher Henry David Thoreau lived on the northern shore of the pond for two years from the summer of 1845. Thoreau was inspired by former enslaved woman Zilpah White, who lived in a one-room house on the common land that bordered Walden Road and made a living spinning flax into linen fibers. White's ability to provide for herself at

215-536: A short (22 minutes) film about Henley's WWP; it was executive produced by Ken Burns . Walden Pond Walden Pond is a historic pond in Concord, Massachusetts , in the United States. A good example of a kettle hole , it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000–12,000 years ago. The pond is protected as part of Walden Pond State Reservation , a 335-acre (136 ha) state park and recreation site managed by

258-420: A thin vapor rising from the sward, and the hazel pointed steadily downward, and he concluded to dig a well here. As for the stones, many still think that they are hardly to be accounted for by the action of the waves on these hills; but I observe that the surrounding hills are remarkably full of the same kind of stones, so that they have been obliged to pile them up in walls on both sides of the railroad cut nearest

301-529: A time when few if any other Concord women lived alone was a singular accomplishment. Thoreau's account of his experience at the pond was recorded in Walden; or, Life in the Woods , and made the pond famous. The land at that end was owned by Thoreau's friend and mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson , who let Thoreau use it for his experiment. Walden Pond was in a neglected, heavily used and even socially dangerous area just outside

344-430: Is Walden Pond, a 64.5-acre (26.1 ha) body of water. A short way north of the pond the site of Thoreau's cabin is marked by a series of granite posts. Portions of the pond's shore are beach, while other parts descend steeply to the water from trails that ring the pond. There are three buildings at the main beach area at the southeastern shore of the pond. The reservation's parking area is located across Route 126, and

387-854: Is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500, or roughly three percent, of over 90,000 places listed on the country's National Register of Historic Places are recognized as National Historic Landmarks. A National Historic Landmark District sometimes called a National Historical Park may include more than one National Historic Landmark and contributing properties that are buildings, structures, sites or objects, and it may include non-contributing properties. Contributing properties may or may not also be separately listed or registered. Prior to 1935, efforts to preserve cultural heritage of national importance were made by piecemeal efforts of

430-579: Is a replica of Thoreau's cabin available for viewing. The reservation is open year-round for day use, but does not allow camping overnight. A new Walden Pond Visitor Center, designed by Maryann Thompson, opened in 2016. The building uses no fossil fuel and has many other sustainable design features. Walden Pond inspired the naming of the American film company Walden Media and is a frequent subject of professional and amateur photographers. C-SPAN broadcast an episode of its American Writers series from

473-844: The Historic American Buildings Survey amassed information about culturally and architecturally significant properties in a program known as the Historic Sites Survey. Most of the designations made under this legislation became National Historic Sites , although the first designation, made December 20, 1935, was for a National Memorial , the Gateway Arch National Park (then known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial) in St. Louis , Missouri. The first National Historic Site designation

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516-479: The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation . The reservation was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962 for its association with the writer Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), whose two years living in a cabin on its shore provided the foundation for his famous 1854 work, Walden; or, Life in the Woods . The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 ensured federal support for

559-616: The Middlesex County Commissioners, then managing the land, proposed leveling a significant portion of the preserve for a parking lot and other "improvements." An acre of woodland had been leveled for access to the public beach when the Commissioners were sued to stop the destruction of the existing environment. Judge David A Rose , sitting in the Massachusetts Superior Court , ruled that Walden's deed donating

602-606: The United States Congress . In 1935, Congress passed the Historic Sites Act , which authorized the interior secretary authority to formally record and organize historic properties, and to designate properties as having "national historical significance", and gave the National Park Service authority to administer historically significant federally owned properties. Over the following decades, surveys such as

645-525: The sacred water of the Ganges ". It was well known at the time that ice shipped from Boston went to many ports, including India. An amusement park with swings, concession stands and an event hall, located at the western end of the pond, burned down in 1902 and was never rebuilt. Descendants of Emerson and other families deeded the land around the pond to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1922. In 1961,

688-696: The 1990s. Later, 41 acres of land along the Sudbury River was acquired as a gift, and further land as well as the Adams House were bought. An interpretive trail was later designed on Brister's hill, featuring quotes from Thoreau and individuals he influenced, and a section explaining ecological succession. To help cover the cost of the project, Henley organized a series of benefit concerts, which included artists such as Elton John , Aerosmith , Melissa Etheridge , Sting , Jimmy Buffett , John Fogerty , Neil Young , Roger Waters and others. In 1992, Henley initiated

731-513: The 2,680 acres of Walden Woods. The Walden Woods Project runs a number of educational programs for students, educators, and the general public. The WWP hosts both on-site educational workshops and Skype sessions with Thoreau Institute library curator Jeffrey S. Cramer . In addition, it organizes an essay contest for students entitled "Live Deliberately." Since 2003 the WWP has offered an annual professional development course for high school educators entitled "Approaching Walden". Walden (2017),

774-819: The 50 states. New York City alone has more NHLs than all but five states: Virginia , California , Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York, the latter of which has the most NHLs of all 50 states. There are 74 NHLs in the District of Columbia . Some NHLs are in U.S. commonwealths and territories, associated states, and foreign states . There are 15 in Puerto Rico , the Virgin Islands , and other U.S. commonwealths and territories ; five in U.S.-associated states such as Micronesia ; and one in Morocco . Over 100 ships or shipwrecks have been designated as NHLs. Approximately half of

817-511: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts installed a porous pavement parking area at Walden Pond as a special technology transfer demonstration project, following methodology generated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1972. The porous pavement still functions decades later, despite experiencing more freeze-thaw cycling than most other parts of the world. Recording artist Don Henley initiated The Walden Woods Project in 1990 to prevent

860-634: The National Historic Landmarks are privately owned . The National Historic Landmarks Program relies on suggestions for new designations from the National Park Service, which also assists in maintaining the landmarks . A friends' group of owners and managers, the National Historic Landmark Stewards Association, works to preserve, protect and promote National Historic Landmarks. If not already listed on

903-608: The National Register, or as an NHL) often triggered local preservation laws, legislation in 1980 amended the listing procedures to require owner agreement to the designations. On October 9, 1960, 92 places, properties, or districts were announced as eligible to be designated NHLs by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton . Agreements of owners or responsible parties were subsequently obtained, but all 92 have since been considered listed on that 1960 date. The origins of

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946-456: The Revolution, told him once that there was an iron chest at the bottom, and that he had seen it. Sometimes it would come floating up to the shore; but when you went toward it, it would go back into the deep water and disappear ... When I first paddled a boat on Walden, it was completely surrounded by thick and lofty pine and oak woods, and in some of its coves grapevines had run over the trees next

989-485: The United States secretary of the interior because they are: More than 2,500 NHLs have been designated. Most, but not all, are in the United States. There are NHLs in all 50 states and the national capital of Washington, D.C. Three states ( Pennsylvania , Massachusetts , and New York ) account for nearly 25 percent of the nation's NHLs. Three cities within these states, Philadelphia , Boston , and New York City , respectively, all separately have more NHLs than 40 of

1032-465: The area around Walden Pond from being developed. Through a joint effort of The Trust for Public Land , the Walden Woods Project , and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts , more than 85 acres of land were permanently protected, including Bear Garden Hill, where Thoreau took moonlit walks. In 1995, The Trust for Public Land also assisted in the acquisition of a historic home, which would become

1075-410: The bed, chair, and desk from Thoreau's cabin. During the winter he lived at Walden Pond a large group of men decamped from the train to cut ice there for sixteen days. In his journal, Thoreau philosophized upon the wintry sight of the ice harvesters: "The sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well ... The pure Walden water is mingled with

1118-578: The first National Historic Landmark was a simple cedar post, placed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition on their 1804 outbound trek to the Pacific in commemoration of the death from natural causes of Sergeant Charles Floyd . The cedar plank was later replaced by a 100 ft (30 m) marble obelisk. The Sergeant Floyd Monument in Sioux City, Iowa , was officially designated on June 30, 1960. NHLs are designated by

1161-492: The plan, and National Trust for Historic Preservation also listed Walden Woods as one of America's Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places . Don Henley , who was influenced by Thoreau's writings in college, offered to lend his support to the opposition movement. In 1990, Henley founded the Walden Woods Project, which ultimately purchased both of the proposed development sites, as well as other sites. The first of these,

1204-413: The pond was named. It has been conjectured that when the hill shook these stones rolled down its side and became the present shore. It is very certain, at any rate, that once there was no pond here, and now there is one; and this Indian fable does not in any respect conflict with the account of that ancient settler whom I have mentioned, who remembers so well when he first came here with his divining-rod, saw

1247-475: The pond's canoe is reminiscent of the boat in A Fairy Tale . ( Goethe , who was a Classicist, not a Romanticist, positively viewed Parzival .) Thoreau wrote: An old man who used to frequent this pond nearly sixty years ago, when it was dark with surrounding forests, tells me that in those days he sometimes saw it all alive with ducks and other water-fowl, and that there were many eagles about it. He came here a-fishing, and used an old log canoe which he found on

1290-518: The pond; and, moreover, there are most stones where the shore is most abrupt; so that, unfortunately, it is no longer a mystery to me. I detect the paver. If the name was not derived from that of some English locality -- Saffron Walden , for instance -- one might suppose that it was called originally Walled-in Pond. Also in "The Ponds," Thoreau describes incorporeal experiences around the water, both experiences related to him by others and his own. Thoreau, who

1333-503: The preservation of the pond. The Walden Pond Reservation is located south of Massachusetts Route 2 and (mostly) west of Massachusetts Route 126 in Concord and Lincoln, Massachusetts . The Fitchburg Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail passes west of the pond; however, the nearest station is in Concord center , 1.4 miles northwest of the reservation. The reservation is 335 acres (136 ha) in size, and its principal feature

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1376-511: The property to the Commonwealth required preservation of the land and barred further development. The decision received national recognition, and Judge Rose received hundreds of letters from school children across the country thanking him for saving the land. Walden Pond became part of the state parks system in 1975. It is also among the national landmarks preserved by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 . In 1977,

1419-686: The recording of a charity album, Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles , released in 1993 to raise funds for the project. It was certified 3× Platinum in the United States by the RIAA on June 27, 1994. He also donated part of the proceeds from the Eagles ' Hell Freezes Over album and tour. Through these and various other fund-raising efforts, which included T-shirt sales and a book Heaven Is Under Our Feet , $ 15 million were raised by 1996, and $ 22 million were eventually raised in total. The organization pledged to find

1462-524: The research center and library for the Thoreau Institute. While living in Walden Woods for two years beginning in 1845, Henry David Thoreau contemplated Walden Pond's features. In "The Ponds" section of Walden , published in 1854, Thoreau extols the water's physical properties. He details its unparalleled water quality; its clarity, color, and temperature; its unique animal life (aquatic, bird, and mammal); its rock formations and bed; and especially, its mirror-like surface properties. Thoreau contemplates

1505-400: The seats, in a summer forenoon, dreaming awake, until I was aroused by the boat touching the sand, and I arose to see what shore my fates had impelled me to; days when idleness was the most attractive and productive industry. In addition to being a popular swimming destination in the summer, Walden Pond State Reservation provides opportunities for boating, hiking, picnicking, and fishing. There

1548-408: The shore. It was made of two white pine logs dug out and pinned together, and was cut off square at the ends. It was very clumsy, but lasted a great many years before it became water-logged and perhaps sank to the bottom. He did not know whose it was; it belonged to the pond. He used to make a cable for his anchor of strips of hickory bark tied together. An old man, a potter, who lived by the pond before

1591-490: The shores of Walden Pond in 2001. Walden Pond appears in the video game Fallout 4 where Thoreau's cabin is preserved. The pond also serves as the backdrop for the game ' Walden, a game ' where players assume the role of author Henry David Thoreau during his time living at the pond in the 1840s. The game was in development for more than ten years and is currently available on Mac , PC , and PS4 . National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark ( NHL )

1634-436: The source of the pristine water body in the woods. He observes that it had no visible inlet or outlet, and considers the possibility of an unidentified spring at the bottom. Noting the kettle landform 's ramparts and resilient shore, he concludes that a unique, natural geologic event formed the site, while recognizing local myths: Some have been puzzled to tell how the shore became so regularly paved. My townsmen have all heard

1677-584: The town, where African American slaves had frequently lived and atrocities against them had been committed; the earth there had been mined, the town dump was eventually located across from it, and it was full of marks from mining hauls, and pottery and charcoal making. Thus, according to Austin Meredith, Thoreau's writing can be credited not only with encouraging a general respect for Nature, but with inspiring special care for and reclamation of land that has in history been abused or exploited. The Concord Museum contains

1720-518: The tradition -- the oldest people tell me that they heard it in their youth -- that anciently the Indians were holding a pow-wow upon a hill here, which rose as high into the heavens as the pond now sinks deep into the earth, and they used much profanity, as the story goes, though this vice is one of which the Indians were never guilty, and while they were thus engaged the hill shook and suddenly sank, and only one old squaw, named Walden, escaped, and from her

1763-426: The water and formed bowers under which a boat could pass. The hills which form its shores are so steep, and the woods on them were then so high, that, as you looked down from the west end, it had the appearance of an amphitheater for some kind of sylvan spectacle. I have spent many an hour, when I was younger, floating over its surface as the zephyr willed, having paddled my boat to the middle, and lying on my back across

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1806-716: Was made for the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on March 17, 1938. In 1960, the National Park Service took on the administration of the survey data gathered under this legislation, and the National Historic Landmark program began to take more formal shape. When the National Register of Historic Places was established in 1966, the National Historic Landmark program was encompassed within it, and rules and procedures for inclusion and designation were formalized. Because listings (either on

1849-581: Was well read and a transcendentalist , and therefore presumably intimately familiar with Romanticism , relates the stories in a way that could be argued to interpret or reveal the pond as the locale of the Grail Legend in the Americas. In the following passage, Walden Pond's vanishing treasure chest echoes the protagonist's fleeting encounter with the grail in Wolfram von Eschenbach 's German romance Parzival , and

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