Introduction: Founding of the Appalachian Trail
Benton MacKaye: the Founder of the Appalachian Trail
Who was Benton MacKaye? What was he known for?
Benton MacKaye (1879-1975) was a forester and conservationist who graduated from Harvard University, with both a bachelors of arts and a masters in forestry. While working with the US Forest Service and the Department of Labor, he developed ideas of land preservation for both recreation and conservation. Using his expertise in forestry, he wrote an article called The Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning (1921).
Between the 1920s-1930s, Benton MacKaye noticed that cities were becoming more urbanized and as a result, there was a strong need for outdoor recreation. In addition, he noticed rural areas had poor economy with struggling migrant lumbermen (1920). As a conservationist and forester, he decided to take his ideas of land preservation and conservation and use it to fill those gaps with the Appalachian Trail. He also worked for the Department of Labor, which gave him awareness of labor and effects on community development/economy.
In 1921, he wrote The Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning to detail out how the trail will be constructed. In addition, the article would stipulate what the trail will include and why it would be significant.
The Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning
Goal of the Appalachian Trail: Provide common ground for Americans for opportunity in recreation, health, and employment (filling the gap between lack of recreation and urbanization through sustainability and conservation) with regional planning
Self-owned community camp rather than a real estate venture, providing extended stays for private citizens.In addition, the community camp would provide for help in regional planning of the trail. Using sustainable means for this project would also provide for lumber and fuel wood, which would be used to construct the trail.
Would be community style, with reliance on private citizen-volunteers and hikers... but some federal oversight
Brief History
1918: WWI ends, urbanization and demand for outdoor recreation grows
1920: MacKaye makes a visit to Stratton and finds it as a struggling rural community of lumbermen. Agriculture is also extremely poor.
1921: Decides to plan a trail to mitigate economic struggles of the rural parts of town, with it being community style. Sustainability and conservation: food/community camps to give people jobs to help build the trail.
1930s: Great Depression made economy bad, but worse for the rural/Appalachian trail areas. Also, handshake/oral agreements were used for acquisition; by 1937, the trail route was completed
1945: World War II ends. Roads and cities become more expansive. Outdoor recreation still in demand
1968: Passing of the National Trails Act
1970s-80s: Federal Land Acquisition using easements and eminent domain at wide scale level. The National Trails Act was amended in 1978 to give the government more money to acquire land on the corridor.
Goals of the AT:
1. Jobs for rural employees
2. Physical health
3. land conservation/protection from profit-motivated entities such as real estate
Why does MacKaye's proposal matter, especially during the age of federalization?
As the founder, MacKaye set the tone for the trail overall. While his colleague Myron Avery was the one who put the trail into fruition, he set the guiding principles of the trail. He did not want the project to be a real estate endeavor, but as nonprofit and community based, with people owning acreage and living in small houses on the trail, but with federal oversight. Over time, the Appalachian Trail project changed as construction expanded across private properties because the federal land acquisition after the 1968 National Trails Act (Appalachian Trail Act) and its amendment 10 years later. Thus, the project became like a real estate venture after 1978 all in all. Why 1978? The Act was amended to give National Park Service more financing power for acquisitions.
The Federal Land Acquisition became an integral part of continuing MacKaye’s legacy, executed by both the National Park Service and the Appalachian Trail Conference. Nevertheless, such a project came issues in private property rights using easements and eminent domain.