John Burroughs (1837-1921) was an internationally known naturalist and essayist who wrote about accessible and familiar landscapes. In 1913, with financial assistance from Henry Ford, Burroughs purchased the house built by his brother Curtis on land near Burroughs's birthplace in Roxbury, New York. Woodchuck Lodge, as Burroughs referred to it, became his summer retreat and its natural surroundings became the subject of his creative works.