Historical Markers

The NLT has some new historical markers, a project two years in the making.  Jeff Cochran, a spiritual seeker and poet who has been with the New Land Trust since the beginning, and who led many types of community ceremonies, has, at his own expense, created some signs which offer an abundance of information about the spiritual happenings that took place on the land over the years.  From its founding and into the early 2000s, the New Land trust served its members as not just a resource for recreation, as it is today, but as a place to honor the land and nourish their souls through nature-based spiritual practices. The markers commemorate the places where these events took place so they’re not completely forgotten as the forest and fields continue to change.

The traditions and ceremonies commemorated by these markers, which drew from Eastern, Western, and Native traditions, served the community of the New Land Trust as an important component of their ecological and community focus. Feel free to peruse these offerings as you enjoy the land, and see what resonates with you.  

Many thanks for design help from Eve Petrashune, Eric VanNostrand for his time and for bringing his tractor with auger to dig the post holes and save everyone’s backs. Thanks Paul Herbold for transporting the signs and helping with the installation and Hal Moore for sign construction and help with installation. 

There are three markers in the Meadow area that are easy to find. The marker by the Stage includes a poem by Jeff about trees, and an explanation of the planting ceremony for the Tree of Peace, a white pine in that corner of the meadow that was ceremonially planted by Jake Swamp, a Mohawk subchief who founded the Tree of Peace Society "to promote universal peace through the planting of trees throughout the world."

You may be familiar with the Labyrinth in the Meadow: a circular, convoluted stone pathway that one can walk as a type of meditation. The marker here explains how it was created in 1997 and gives the historical context for the Western/global tradition of the Labyrinth.

The third historical marker in the Meadow is up the hill by the bench. It gives the background and the text of a play written by Jeff Cochran, "Axis of Beauty in the Hoop-Law of Wonder-love", that took place for two years as part of the midsummer Poobah celebration. This location used to have rocks that were laid out in a circular shape with a human figure at the center, Buddhist iconography that complemented the text of the play. People today are encouraged to read the text and imagine the lines being spoken from the horizon at the four cardinal points of the compass.

Up on the Green Trail, hikers and skiers will find a low semicircle of stones flanked by an historical marker commemorating the Inipi sweat lodge ceremonies led by Jorge Jiminez, a spiritual facilitator trained in the Sioux tradition, that took place there from 2003 to 2007. The sign goes into detail about the nature of this Native American sacred ceremony and its practice at the NLT during these years.

The final marker is by the Barn and marks the place where a medicine wheel garden was planted. The plants have come and gone, but at the center of where the circular garden used to be, there still stands a carved totem pole designed by Jeff Cochran to express some of the essential Earth Wisdom Teachings of Sioux Holy man, Black Elk. The marker gives information about the former garden and about the spiritual significance of the carvings on the center post.

Regarding these markers, Jeff says: "It has been a precious gift to have participated in these sacred events and an honor to have written the words for the signs."