The William Bartram Arboretum is an

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 ...

near

Wetumpka, Alabama Wetumpka () is a city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Alabama, Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 7,220. In the early 21st century Elmore County became one of the f ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located off

U.S. Route 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north-south United States Numbered Highway System, U.S highway that is a parallel route of U.S. Route 31, US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, St. John, Indiana, at U.S. Route 41 in Indiana, US 41 ...

, at 2521 Fort Toulouse Road. The arboretum is named in honor of the 18th century naturalist

William Bartram William Bartram (April 20, 1739 – July 22, 1823) was an American botanist, ornithologist, natural historian and explorer. Bartram was the author of an acclaimed book, now known by the shortened title ''Bartram's Travels'', which chronicled ...

, who visited the area in 1776 while studying local flora and fauna. Operated by the Alabama Historical Commission, the William Bartram Arboretum is a part of the Fort Toulouse- Jackson Park at the confluence of the Coosa and

Tallapoosa River The Tallapoosa River runs U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 from the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, United States, southward and wes ...

s. It opened on June 5, 1977, as a joint project of The Garden Club of Alabama and the Alabama Historical Commission. The arboretum is a boardwalk and series of paths through wildflower fields, bogs, and forests from the visitor's center to Fort Toulouse, then down to an overlook of the Tallapoosa River. Shrubs and flowers are identified. The arboretum is open sunrise to sunset all year long.

See also