Since the 18th century, Burton has been used as pasture for sheep and cows, and as farmland growing beans and peas. Now, the park is home to more than a dozen campsites and twice as many lean-tos, in addition to cabins, a bistro and even a 100-slip marina.But remnants of the island’s agricultural past can still be found in the landscape. Rusted farm equipment is woven into the meadows full of sweet-smelling bedstraw; a barn’s cornerstone lies hidden beneath a new forest of twisted sumac trees, heavy with clusters of crimson red seeds.
At twilight on the summer solstice, VPR's Mary Engisch took a night hike with a small group of campers headed into the woods to follow the Island Farm Trail.
Broadcast on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
