John Burroughs was buried at his "boyhood rock" on the mountainside where he spent much of his life. This red sandstone boulder was one of his favorite places to rest. Here, in the shade of an ironwood tree, he could observe nature and appreciate the ever-changing beauty of his beloved Catskill Mountains. Burroughs asked Roy to beautify the meadow and gravesite to create a park landscape in the natural manner both men loved. Roy's May 19, 1921, site plan included several places associated with John Burroughs's life and writings. Burroughs entrusted the grave's design to his friend W. Ormiston Roy, a Canadian landscape architect whom he described as a "landscape naturalist." The two met at Woodcock Lodge in 1915 and had much in common. Burroughs wrote, "Here I climbed at sundown when a boy to rest from work and play, and listen to the vesper sparrow sing and here I hope to rest when my work and play are over - when the sun goes down - here by my boyhood rock."