Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Arboretum is a
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
and
arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
J. Sterling Morton
Julius Sterling Morton (April 22, 1832 – April 27, 1902) was a Nebraska newspaper editor and politician who served as President Grover Cleveland's United States Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Agriculture. He was a prominent Bourbon Dem ...
Secretary of Agriculture
The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments.
The department includes several organi ...
in the 1890s under President Grover Cleveland. The house was originally a modest 4-room frame structure on . It was extended several times, most recently in 1903, and in later years served as the summer home for his son Joy Morton, founder of Morton Salt Company. The
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
features Victorian and Empire furnishings, many of which were owned by the Mortons. Its sun parlor contains a fine
Tiffany
Tiffany may refer to:
People
* Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name
* Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname
Known mononymously as "Tiffany":
* Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress kn ...
skylight with grape trellis design.
Trees were a central interest of J. Sterling Morton. He imported trees from all over the country in order to test their suitability to create windbreaks and otherwise break up the monotony of the great plains. The house is surrounded by 270 varieties of trees and shrubs, including gardens, apple orchards, and acres of oaks, maples,
chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
s, and pines, including at least 10 state-champion trees. Specimen trees are typically labeled with engraved bronze plates. Over the years, many of Arbor Lodge's apple orchards were demolished, but in the 1990s their restoration began with plantings of winesaps,
golden delicious
'Golden Delicious' is a cultivar of apple. It is one of the 15 most popular apple cultivars in the United States. It is not closely related to 'Red Delicious'.
History
Golden Delicious arose from a chance seedling, possibly a hybrid of 'Gri ...
jonathan
Jonathan may refer to:
*Jonathan (name), a masculine given name
Media
* ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer
* ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski
* ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...
Tiffany
Tiffany may refer to:
People
* Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name
* Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname
Known mononymously as "Tiffany":
* Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress kn ...
skylight in the sun parlor.
Image:Wiki photos 134a.jpg, Pathway in the rose garden on the south side of the mansion.
Activities and amenities
The mansion functions as a museum and contains many items related to the early history of Nebraska, Otoe County, and Nebraska City. The park includes an arboretum, Italian terraced garden, log cabin, carriage house with early carriages, walking trails, and 200 varieties of lilacs. Since 2014, the state park has been managed by the Arbor Day Foundation.