The Dawes Arboretum

Founded in 1929 by Beman and Bertie Dawes, The Arboretum now covers nearly 1,800 acres and includes eight miles of hiking trails and a four-mile Auto Tour. It features more than 15,000 living plants, a Japanese Garden, as well as Deep Woods or Dutch Fork Wetlands. It also has an Observation Tower for an amazing view. By the time The Dawes Arboretum was founded in 1929, over 50,000 trees had been planted and the grounds had doubled in size to 293 acres. Beman and Bertie Dawes created The Arboretum as a private foundation: “To encourage the planting of forest and ornamental trees … to give pleasure to the public and education to the youth.” Today, The Dawes Arboretum displays nearly 5,000 different types of woody plants. Active records are kept on more than 30,000 individual plants. To ensure the continuation of The Arboretum, Beman and Bertie Dawes established an endowment fund. Today, the endowment continues to be the major source of funds for The Dawes Arboretum that has grown from 293 acres in 1929 to over 1,800 acres.