Forest Park Museum and Arboretum
Encyclopedia
Forest Park Museum and Arboretum 17 acres (69,000 m²) is a museum
and arboretum
located near Perry, Iowa
. It is open seasonally May 1 to October 31 during daylight hours. There is no admission fee.
The museum and arboretum were originally developed on 5 acres (20,000 m²) in the 1940s by Eugene Hastie, a farmer and local historian of Dallas County. He planted his arboretum in straight lines to allow farming between the trees, and in 1953 opened his museum to the public. In 1966, the Dallas County Conservation Department purchased the site, and has subsequently added another 12 acres (49,000 m²) of re-established prairie
and wildflower
s.
The arboretum contains over 100 species of primarily native trees and shrubs.
Museum displays include the last one-room school house of Dallas County (built 1867, closed 1961), early transportation and railroading memorabilia, farm machinery, small hand tools, and a blacksmith shop.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
and arboretum
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 near Perry, Iowa
Perry, Iowa
Perry is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States, along the North Raccoon River. The population was 7,633 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. It is open seasonally May 1 to October 31 during daylight hours. There is no admission fee.
The museum and arboretum were originally developed on 5 acres (20,000 m²) in the 1940s by Eugene Hastie, a farmer and local historian of Dallas County. He planted his arboretum in straight lines to allow farming between the trees, and in 1953 opened his museum to the public. In 1966, the Dallas County Conservation Department purchased the site, and has subsequently added another 12 acres (49,000 m²) of re-established prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
and wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
s.
The arboretum contains over 100 species of primarily native trees and shrubs.
Museum displays include the last one-room school house of Dallas County (built 1867, closed 1961), early transportation and railroading memorabilia, farm machinery, small hand tools, and a blacksmith shop.