Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Arboretum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Arbor Lodge State Historical Park |
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 Arbor Lodge State Historical Park
Location in Nebraska
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| Location | Nebraska City, Nebraska, United States |
| Area | 73.85 acres (29.89 ha) |
| Elevation | 1,066 ft (325 m) |
| Established | 1923 |
| Administrator | Arbor Day Foundation |
| Website | Smith Falls State Park |
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Arbor Lodge
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The front of Arbor Lodge.
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| Location | 2600 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, Nebraska |
| Area | 72 acres (29 ha) |
| Built | 1855 |
| Architect | House: Jarvis Hunt Grounds: Frederick Law Olmsted |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 69000135 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 16, 1969 |
| Designated NHL | May 15, 1975 |
Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Arboretum is a cool place to visit in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It's a big old mansion and a special garden filled with many kinds of trees, called an arboretum. This park is so important that it's listed as a National Historic Landmark.
The main house, a huge 52-room building, started small in 1855. It was built for J. Sterling Morton. He was the person who started Arbor Day, a special day for planting trees! He also worked for the government as the United States Secretary of Agriculture in the 1890s.
The house began as a simple 4-room home on 160 acres. Over time, it grew much larger, with the last big addition in 1903. Later, J. Sterling Morton's son, Joy Morton, used it as his summer home. Joy Morton was famous for starting the Morton Salt Company. The mansion is full of old furniture and items that belonged to the Morton family. You can even see a beautiful Tiffany skylight in the sunroom, which looks like a grape vine.
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The Morton Family and Arbor Day
J. Sterling Morton loved trees very much. He brought trees from all over the country to see which ones would grow best in Nebraska. He wanted to plant trees to create windbreaks and make the wide-open plains more interesting. His passion led to the creation of Arbor Day.
A Home for Trees
The land around the house is now home to 270 different types of trees and shrubs. You can explore lovely gardens, old apple orchards, and many kinds of oaks, maples, chestnuts, and pines. Some of these trees are even "state champions," meaning they are the biggest of their kind in Nebraska! Each special tree usually has a bronze plate telling you what it is.
For a while, many of the apple orchards were removed. But in the 1990s, people started planting them again. Now you can find winesaps, golden delicious, red delicious, jonathans, and jonadels apples growing there.
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The beautiful Tiffany skylight in the sun parlor.
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A pathway in the rose garden on the south side of the mansion.
What to Do at Arbor Lodge
Arbor Lodge is more than just a house; it's a museum! You can learn about the early history of Nebraska, Otoe County, and Nebraska City.
Explore the Park
The park has many fun things to see and do:
- Walk through the arboretum and see all the different trees.
- Enjoy the beautiful Italian terraced garden.
- Visit a historic log cabin.
- See old carriages in the carriage house.
- Hike on the walking trails.
- Discover over 200 types of lilacs.
Since 2014, the Arbor Day Foundation has helped manage this amazing state park.
