The Dawes Arboretum was established by Beman and Bertie Dawes on June 1, 1929. By that time, they had planted over 50,000 trees and the grounds covered 293 acres. They created The Arboretum as a private family foundation with a mission “ To encourage the planting of forest and ornamental trees... to give pleasure to the public and education to the youth.”
Over the last 95 years, The Arboretum has grown to nearly 2,000 acres where land is continuously being reforested.
This past year, The Arboretum has:
- Planted 750+ trees
- Grew 120+ pounds of vegetables in our Learning Garden and donated them to local food pantries
- Hosted 3,400+ teachers and students for field trips
- Created 300+ camp boxes for underprivileged children in Licking County
- Expanded our library pass program to provide free admission to library members in five surrounding counties
To recognize this milestone, the first 95 non-member guests who visit The Arboretum on June 1 will receive 2 free admission tickets to our Japanese Garden Festival occurring on June 22. Click here for more information about the Japanese Garden Festival.
Also, join us Saturday, June 1 for our Daweswood House Museum tours and check out some items special to Beman and Bertie Dawes. Most of these items have never before been seen by the public! Our goal was to pick sentimental items that represent Beman and Bertie's personal collection.
On Saturday, you will find outfits belonging to both co-founders. The articles of clothing chosen matched Beman and Bertie's 50th wedding anniversary photo taken in the living room (pictured above). Features in that room also included Bertie's Gold Lifesaving Medal and Beman's Legion of Honour medal. Both of these items will additionally be on display which typically are not shown regularly to the public. We also will be showcasing the Dawes family’s silver collection that was used to serve their guests.
To register for a Daweswood House Museum tour, click here.
Please also feel free to contact learning@dawesarb.org for any questions you may have, or to set up an appointment to research the historic archives.