I have been lucky in that we went over a detailed description of the land use history of Centennial Woods in NR001, here’s what I have learned.
The land that is now Centennial Woods was used for many different purposes which included farming, housing ROTC (probably) and shows signs that parts of the woods were previously developed. Before all of this though, the Abnaki people lived on this land up until it was settled by farmers in the 19th century.
Old strips of barbed wire provide evidence that the land was used for farming, specifically grazing, most likely by cows at one point, because of the popularity of cattle grazing in Vermont in the mid 1800s. Near the southern end of the woods, there is a large concrete wall built into the side of a hill which provides evidence that the land was also possibly used by UVM’s ROTC because this is thought to be the remains of a bunker that would have housed the members. Cutting through the middle of the woods, there is a large powerline that that leads to Centennial Field which means that this land had to have been clear-cut recently for construction. This property was also used as a dumping site for the UVM Medical Center where they would throw away any waste, including cadavers, which means it is possible to find body parts within the ground.
The land was exploited in this way because, before 1997, Centennial Woods had not been protected by the University. Though portions of the land have been sold and used for the interstate, there is still a large natural area that is protected today.