John Burroughs Putting up a Bluebird House at Riverby, 1902

John Burroughs (1837-1921) was an internationally known naturalist and essayist who wrote about accessible and familiar landscapes. In 1873, Burroughs bought a plot of land overlooking the Hudson in the Catskills of upstate New York and named it Riverby. Here, he farmed and cultivated grapes and fruit trees. He also erected a family home and built secluded retreats where he penned some of his most famous works.