Arbor Day Farm - Tree Adventure

Arbor Day Farm

The History of Arbor Day Farm:

This land that makes up Arbor Day Farm today was originally part of Arbor Day founder J. Sterling Morton's agricultural estate. J. Sterling Morton homesteaded this area in 1854. Mr. Morton and his new bride, Caroline, traveled to Nebraska from Michigan, leaving the beautiful wooded areas of that state to come to our treeless plains. After building their four-room cabin on the site of the present Arbor Lodge mansion, they set about planting trees and landscaping their property. J. Sterling Morton planted trees. Caroline planted trees. The Mortons had four boys and, as their boys grew up, they helped to plant trees too.

J. Sterling Morton was a journalist and editor of Nebraska's first newspaper. His influence as a journalist grew and led to his involvement in politics. Morton worked with other early Nebraska promoters to encourage settlement of the prairie. Beneath the tall grass prairie that covered much of Nebraska was rich, fertile soil. ..wonderful for farmland. But the Midwest had been described as the "great American desert." Even free land provided by the Homestead Act was not enough to entice many settlers to come to Nebraska. Morton helped put ads in eastern newspapers encouraging people to settle in Nebraska saying, "come build your home from 'Nebraska marble"' (which, when they arrived, turned out to be prairie sod.)

Without wood, many settlers were forced to heat their homes with buffalo chips. The lack of trees to provide shade, windbreaks, wood for building homes and fuel to heat homes was a major obstacle to the settlement of Nebraska.

Morton wanted Nebraska to grow and prosper. He knew that for this to happen, a major tree planting effort would need to be made. In 1872 Morton first proposed a tree planting holiday to be called " Arbor Day" at a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture. Prizes were offered to counties and individuals for properly planting the largest number of trees on that day. It was estimated that more than I million trees were planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day. During the 1870s, other states passed legislation to observe Arbor Day and the tradition began in schools in 1882. By 1894, Arbor Day was celebrated in every state in the nation at that time.

Morton continued to used his newspaper to tell people how important it was to plant trees, and how trees helped the land in many ways. He was proud of the success of Arbor Day. His famous quote about Arbor Day is, "Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future."

Today, Arbor Day is celebrated in every state in the United States and even in some other countries around the world. Arbor Day is not always celebrated on the same date in every state. In Florida, Arbor Day is celebrated in January, because that is the best time of year to plant trees in Florida. In Alaska, Arbor Day is celebrated in May, because that is the best time for planting trees in Alaska. The last Friday in April is set aside as National Arbor Day. J. Sterling Morton spent his whole life encouraging people to plant trees and care for the land. The Arbor Day Foundation was founded in
1972, the centennial year of Arbor Day, and carries on the legacy of stewardship handed down by J. Sterling Morton. People allover the United States help to keep J. Sterling Morton's dream alive by planting trees.

Miscellaneous Facts

Morton served as Secretary of Agriculture in President Grover Cleveland's cabinet.
Morton passed away in 1902. He left Arbor Lodge to serve as a summer retreat for his family.
In 1923, Joy Morton, the eldest son, donated the house and grounds to the State of Nebraska to be preserved for future generations as a monument to his father. Today, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission administers Arbor Lodge as a state historical park.
J. Sterling Morton's birthday, Apri1 22, (the old Arbor Day date) is the day we celebrate Earth Day.
The 4 Morton boys were Joy, Mark, Paul, & Carl. (Joy founded Morton Salt, Carl founded the Argo Starch company.)