| Wheeler Nature Park | |
|---|---|
 Wheeler Nature Park in South Burlington looking eastward. | |
| Location | Intersection of Dorset Street and Swift Street in South Burlington, Vermont |
| Coordinates | 44°26′36″N 73°10′35″W / 44.443222°N 73.176383°W / 44.443222; -73.176383 |
| Area | 119 acres (48 ha) |
| Created | 1992 |
| Operated by | City of South Burlington Recreation & Parks Department |
| Website | Wheeler Nature Park |
Wheeler Nature Park is a 119-acre park (48 ha) located in South Burlington, Vermont that hosts hiking trails and a natural area, as well as a 14-acre parcel featuring the historic Wheeler/Calkins House and the Wheeler Homestead Community Garden comprising garden plots, a children's' garden, and a tree nursery. Originally purchased by the municipality in 1992, the natural area of the park consists of grasslands, shrublands, wetlands, and mixed forest. The Wheeler/Calkins House was listed in the Vermont State Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1993 (listed as property #562).
Park history
The first European-American who settled the property and constructed the original farmstead was Rufus Crossman, circa 1800. Over the next century the majority of the land had been cleared for agriculture where a smaller natural forest stand remained, most likely cultivated as a sugar bush for maple syrup. Aerial photos taken in 1937 indicated four structures, including a large barn existed on the northwest corner of the property.
On February 22, 2011, the South Burlington City Council voted to name the natural area as "Wheeler Nature Park", based on a 2010 unanimous recommendation from the South Burlington Natural Resources Committee (SBNRC) that had deliberated other historically related names, including Crossman and Calkins. "Wheeler" was considered most reflective of the property's heritage, due to Herman H. Wheeler who had constructed the three-story brick farmhouse on the property in 1903. Wheeler had served as the city's Town Clerk, Treasurer, and as a representative to the Vermont Legislature, where for a some time the farmhouse served as Wheeler's office. The Wheeler family maintained ownership of the property for nearly 40 years, before Rena Calkins purchased the property in the mid-1940s.
In 2011 the City of South Burlington voted to exchange 7.25 acres of the Park for 21.27 acres of adjacent land (i.e. “the leg”) then called the “Wheeler Nature Park Connection Parcel”, which increased the park to approximately 119 acres. The referendum called for the City Council to commit the Wheeler Nature Park into a third-party conservation easement. The City revised the management plan over the next four years.
References
- ^ SE Group (6 December 2016). "Wheeler Nature Park Strategic Conservation Framework" (PDF). South Burlington, Vermont: City of South Burlington Wheeler Conservation Easement Task Force. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
- Jonswold, Miranda (23 June 2016). "Conservation Easement Task Force Identifies Elements, Values, and Uses for Wheeler Nature Park and Homestead". The Other Paper. Stowe, Vermont: Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC.
- "Online Resource Center (listing) HSSS #0414-21". State of Vermont - Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD). 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
- ^ Park History (Interpretive signage within the park). South Burlington, Vermont: City of South Burlington Parks & Facilities.
External links
- Official website City of South Burlington, Vermont: Wheeler Nature Park