Bartlett Arboretum (Kansas)
Encyclopedia
The Bartlett Arboretum is a historic, nonprofit arboretum
located in Belle Plaine
, Kansas
, United States
. It is privately owned, and open to the public only upon special request.
The Arboretum was established in 1910 by Dr. Walter Bartlett, a general practitioner from Belle Plaine, who purchased pastureland to create his own arboretum. In the 1930s the arboretum became an approved test site for the United States Department of Agriculture
which provided plants and trees from around the world for hardiness tests.
The Arboretum now contains massive cypress
, oak
s and champion Japanese maples. Its steward is Robin Lynn Macy
, otherwise known as a founding member of the Dixie Chicks
bluegrass and country music group.
It was developed over many years, from relatively barren land with water only in a slough. Early in the process, Bartlett formed a dam and also built 4 islands in the slough.
According to the National Park Service:
The property was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
on April 19, 2010. The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service
's weekly list of May 7, 2010.
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
located in Belle Plaine
Belle Plaine, Kansas
Belle Plaine is a city in Sumner County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,681.-Geography:Belle Plaine is located at...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is privately owned, and open to the public only upon special request.
The Arboretum was established in 1910 by Dr. Walter Bartlett, a general practitioner from Belle Plaine, who purchased pastureland to create his own arboretum. In the 1930s the arboretum became an approved test site for the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
which provided plants and trees from around the world for hardiness tests.
The Arboretum now contains massive cypress
Cupressaceae
The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...
, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s and champion Japanese maples. Its steward is Robin Lynn Macy
Robin Lynn Macy
Robin Lynn Macy is an American musician, teacher, and gardener, who is best known as a founding member of the female country group the Dixie Chicks....
, otherwise known as a founding member of the Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
bluegrass and country music group.
It was developed over many years, from relatively barren land with water only in a slough. Early in the process, Bartlett formed a dam and also built 4 islands in the slough.
According to the National Park Service:
The Bartlett Arboretum is a private fifteen acre park in rural Belle Plaine, Kansas, that evolved in early 20th century from a recreational park and conservation area to an arboretum with formal gardens and experimental plots and nurseries. The arboretum largely reflects the influences of professional landscape architect and horticulturist Glenn Bartlett, his wife and floral expert Margaret Bartlett, and Glenn’s father who first purchased the property in 1910 to be used as a public athletic field for the small community and as a natural reserve complete with water fowl and non-indigenous trees. After years of being under maintained, the Bartlett Arboretum is currently being restored with the goal for it to serve as an educational and events space.
The property was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on April 19, 2010. The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
's weekly list of May 7, 2010.