Walden Woods Benefit From Singer’s Efforts

When rock singer Don Henley began his campaign to save Walden Woods, many people considered it a joke. But Henley is now getting the last laugh.

He has raised close to $15 million to save Henry David Thoreau’s beloved stomping grounds from developers - and more is on the way when the Eagles play a Walden Woods benefit in Hartford, Conn. tonight.

“We have now broken ground for a Thoreau institute and archive center that we expect to complete in October,” says Henley, who, when he’s not touring with the Eagles, has been buying up private collections of Thoreau memorabilia to exhibit in the Concord-based center.

He recently bought one collection for $300,000 and another for $190,000. Included is an original Thoreau manuscript,

Henley credits Thoreau, the 19th-century transcendentalist, for sparking his interest in writing songs.

In a way, Thoreau also shaped the Eagles reunion the last couple of years, since Henley agreed to it only after the band promised to contribute to the Walden Woods campaign.

Tonight’s Hartford gig is among a mere handful of North American dates this summer.

“If we ever toured again, we all agreed that we’d have to make another album,” Henley said. “We can’t keep recycling this material.

“As much as people love it, we simply owe it to ourselves and to our fans to write and record some new music. So that remains to be seen.

“We’re taking things one step at a time. If we get through this tour all right, we’ll take some time off and then get together to consider doing a new album or not.”

(The Eagles’ “Hell Freezes Over” concert album has sold 6 million copies.)