University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Theses (Historic Preservation) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 1996 Nineteenth Century Arboretums in Southeastern Pennsylvania: An Examination of the Legacy of Natural History and Its Ramifications in the Preservation of the Historic Landscape M. Elizabeth Appleby University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Appleby, M. Elizabeth, "Nineteenth Century Arboretums in Southeastern Pennsylvania: An Examination of the Legacy of Natural History and Its Ramifications in the Preservation of the Historic Landscape" (1996). Theses (Historic Preservation). 498. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/498 Copyright note: Penn School of Design permits distribution and display of this student work by University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Suggested Citation: Appleby, M. Elizabeth (1996). Nineteenth Century Arboretums in Southeastern Pennsylvania: An Examination of the Legacy of Natural History and Its Ramifications in the Preservation of the Historic Landscape. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/498 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Nineteenth Century Arboretums in Southeastern Pennsylvania: An Examination of the Legacy of Natural History and Its Ramifications in the Preservation of the Historic Landscape Disciplines Historic Preservation and Conservation Comments Copyright note: Penn School of Design permits distribution and display of this student work by University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Suggested Citation: Appleby, M. Elizabeth (1996). Nineteenth Century Arboretums in Southeastern Pennsylvania: An Examination of the Legacy of Natural History and Its Ramifications in the Preservation of the Historic Landscape. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/498 UNIVERSITYy PENNSYLVANIA. UBRARIE5 NINETEENTH CENTURY ARBORETUMS IN SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA: AN EXAMINATION OF THE LEGACY OF NATURAL HISTORY AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS IN THE PRESERVATION OF THE HISTORIC LANDSCAPE M. Elizabeth Appleby A THESIS in Historic Preservation Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fufillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SQENCE 1996 CL^io^ W^. ^g^ .^- QM^ Nj/uS^A ^^'^ ^ Supervisor Re Christa Wilmanns-Wells JoHn Milner Ti^-hi^ Mhoi m. , vo -ic UNIVFHSITY OF [PENNSYLVANIA LlBRA^-;ii..S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank a number of individuals who helped me get this paper in—and in on time. Christa Wilmanns-Wells was extremely helpful, not only for her advice and editing, but for her subtle pressure that made me work on this paper until it was the best that it could be. Thanks to John Milner, whose reading of the paper provided suggestions that gave this work a much needed sense of continuity. Many thanks to Pam Harper, Leslie Potter, George Thomas and the staff of the Tyler Arboretum who made their resources and advice available to me. My appreciation goes out to my friend, Robin Weidlich, for her ability to put this whole project in perspective. Thank you Mom for driving me around, whiting out those httle black lines and the fabulous cut and paste job you did on the figure numbers. And, finally, a big thanks to my cats and their fluffy paws that seemed to type as many letters as my fingers and who kept my computer warm during the long winter months. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgments ii Table of Contents iii List of Figures iv Introduction 1 Chapters I. The Eighteenth Century: How Natural History Laid the Foundahon for the Arboretums of the Nineteenth Century 9 II. Natural History and the New Republic 26 III. The Nineteenth Century: The Evans Arboretum— an Outward Manifestation of the Search for Grace and a Legacy Lost 31 IV. The Nineteenth Century: The Painter Arboretum— Two Men's Desire to Better Understand their World 53 V. The Arboretum m the Twentieth Century: The Choice Between Preservation and Rehabilitation and how Context must be Observed and Maintained at the Tyler Arboretum 70 Conclusion 92 Appendix A. Copies of Plant Lists in the Lawn Book of Minshall and Jacob Painter 94 Appendix B. Notes Towards the Interpretation of the Historic Resources and Collections of the Tyler Arboretum 158 Appendix C. Tyler Arboretum Development Plans 177 Appendix D. Letters Regarding Horticulture and the Planting Practices of the Painter Brothers 194 Appendix E. December 3, 1946 Map of the Tyler Arboretum 201 Bibliography 203 List of Figures (including maps and pictures) Page Figure 1: Map of the Philadelphia Region Indicating the Location and Name of Important Area Arboreta and Botanic Gardens in 1995. From WiUiam M. Klein, Jr., Gardens of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, " 1995), 304-5. 5 Figure 2: Drawing of Bartram's Garden sent to Peter Collinson by John Bartram in 1758. From Pamela Regis, Describing Early America, (Dekalb: Northern Illinois Press, 1992), 2. 16 Figure 3: Bartram's House (west front), originally reproduced from a photograph taken by Dr. J. F. Holt around 1899. From John Harshberger, The Botanists of Philadelphia, (Philadelphia: T.C. Davis and Sons, 1899), 56. 18 Figiire 4: William Darlington, M. D., from a miniature cut furnished by Dr. WilUam Sharpless. From Harshberger, 134. 23 Figure 5: John Evans from a photo by G. A. Lenzi. From Harshberger, 168. 36 Figvire 6: Evans' House and Grounds, with the flume of the old mill. The photo was taken by Dr. Harshberger on April 3, 1897. Harshberger, 170. 38 Figure 7: Chalk portrait of Sir William Jackson Hooker by David Macnee, done just before he left Glasgow for Kew, in 1841. From Mea Allan, The Hookers of Kew, (London: Michael Joseph, 1967), 80. 40 Figure 8: Woods and Ithan Creek, Evans' Garden. The photo was taken by Dr. Harshberger on April 3, 1897. From Harshberger,172. 42 Figvire 9: Mill Dam in Evans' Arboretum, 1897. Harshberger, 173. 44 Figure 10: Map of Radnor Township Showing Early Grants and Patents. Drawn from Benjamin H. Smith, Atlas of Delaware (Philadelphia: Henry B. Ashmead. County, PA., ' Press; 1880), 13. 46 Figure 11: Looking towards the Evans Arboretum from the Garden of Mr. Hinckle Smith. From John T. Paris, Old Gardens in and and about Philadelphia, (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1932), 193. 48 Figvire 12 and 13: Photographs of the Evans Arboretum, c. 1930. From Faris, 192. 52 Figiire 14: Map of North America Illustrating the Relative Concentration of Arboretums and Botanical Gardens in North America in 1959. From Donald Wyman, The Arboretums and Botanical Gardens of North America, (Jamaica Plain, Mass.: The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 1959), 38-9. 67 Figure 15: Plant List and Plant Information Concerning Peirce's Park. From Leslie S. Sparker, Tulip Trees and Quaker Gentlemen, Kennett Square, Pa.: Longwood Gardens Inc., 1975), 52-54. 73 Figure 16: Tracing of an 1854 Map Found in "The LawTi Book" at Swarthmore Library. Numbered partitions correspond with those found on the plant list of 1854. 128 Introduction Until relatively recently, preservationists have played a minor role in projects involving historic landscapes. It is not until the last decade that administrators of historic sites around the country have begun to realize that the grounds of their properties might carry as much informational value as the structures which inhabit the land. Even with the recognition of the landscape as an important piece of the puzzle, capable of unlocking the past at a historic site, the landscape has generally not been subject to the same standards of investigation and documentation that is afforded to buildings. Within the past couple of years, several landscape initiatives at major historic sites have yielded a wealth of information about the land and the people who shaped it. Projects funded by the National Trust at Lyndhurst, Shadows-on-the- Teche and Chesterwood have revealed whole new ways of looking at these historic sites. Other projects involving non-trust properties, such as St. Mary's City in Maryland and the Frederick Law Olmstead Site in Massachusetts, have proven the value of a properly interpreted landscape to enrich the value of the historic site.^ As standards for landscape preservation have been written, in particvilar the two documents drawn up by the National Park Service pertaining to landscape, the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and the Guidelines for the Treatment 1 For more information on the landscape studies made by the National Trust at these sites, please see Frank Sanchis, "Landscape Initiatives of the National Trust," Historic Preservation Forum 7, no. 3 (1993): 62-65. For information of the landscape work performed at St. Mark's City, which has not only proved to be historically interesting but an effective method to safeguard the historic integrity of the town, please see Mark R. Edwards, "Protecting the Historic Landscape of a National Historic Landmark," Historic Presenmtion Forum 5, no. 4 (1991): 17. the difficulty of Historic Landscapes, site managers are learning to cope with of preserving the landscape. The fundamental methodology used in landscape preservation is the same that is used in preserving any historic property: "to document the object [landscape] as