Billings Farm & Museum is an independent 501 (c)3 non-profit organization, established in 1983 by Laurance and Mary Rockefeller. Today Billings Farm has an educational mission that is supported by our guests, members, and donors.
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is a unit of the US Department of Interior National Park Service.
Historically, the two sites were both part of the entire Frederick Billings Estate. The Billings family lived in the mansion, which is now part of the National Park. They reforested the estate and established gardens and trails for recreation.
Billings Farm was established by Frederick Billings in 1871 as a model farm run by the Billings family, their farm managers, and their farm staff.
Mary Rockefeller, Frederick Billings’ granddaughter, and her husband Laurance inherited most of the Farm and Estate. The Rockefellers donated Billings Farm & Museum to the Woodstock Foundation in the 1980s. When Mary passed away, Laurance donated the estate to the US Government to establish a National Park.
Billings Farm & Museum works closely with the National Park to share the story of our adjacent sites. We share a Visitor Center, parking lot, and the Visitor Center Theater where guests can view “A Place in the Land” which introduces guests to the people and history of this place.
To reserve tours or learn more about the activities and events at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, visit their website www.nps.gov/mabi/index.htm or call 802-457-3368.
(The) theater plays an Academy Award-nominated short documentary, “A Place in the Land,” which gives a fascinating introduction to the Billings Farm & Museum and the adjoining Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park.
The film explores the 150-year history of the farm through the stewardship of George Perkins Marsh, who built the estate, Frederick Billings, who would pass on the estate through three generations of Billings women, to finally Mary and Laurance Rockefeller. Rather than pass it on to their children, the Rockefellers donated both the mansion and adjoining farm to the community upon Mary’s passing.”
~ Cary Dunst, “The Traditional Charms, Modern Comforts of Vermont’s Woodstock Inn”, September 2, 2022, Epoch Times