More detailed information on the founding of the University is at http://www.stanford.edu/home/stanford/history/ and bibliography at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/spc/stanpub.html
No buildings of any kind whatever should ever be erected within the grounds of the original Arboretum. It should always be retained in its present condition as a Park for drives and walks so long as the University exists. This Park was a favorite project of my husband and carried into effect twentyeight years ago. There are many miles of drive[s] within, or connected with shaded avenues, with this beautiful park. The choicest trees are there planted from all parts of the world, and as the years roll on and this most beautiful valley of Santa Clara becomes, as I have no doubt it will, the educational center of our State and thickly settled with beautiful homes, this park will be unique and of itself memorable and monumental. It should, accordingly, always be sacredly preserved from mutilation.
— excerpt from Jane Stanford's address to the Trustees, 1903
|
For the early years read Julie Cain's articles on the Arizona Garden and Arboretum in Sandstone & Tile 27, Spring/Summer 2003. For Arboretum land-use issues in later years read Donald Price's manuscript The Stanford Arboretum, University Archives sGW403; and the official SU Arboretum Region Plan, April 1992. Map left is from the 1992 Plan.
More detailed information on the founding of the University is at http://www.stanford.edu/home/stanford/history/ and bibliography at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/spc/stanpub.html |
| 1876 | Leland Stanford (hereafter LS) began purchase of Menlo property for his stock farm, and also cultivated alfalfa, wheat, barley, wine grapes, and fruit crops. At that time the lower, eastern part of the present-day campus had already been intensively farmed and grazed. European ranching and agriculture had eliminated much of the original vegetation but for old, large oaks in open areas and riparian plants along some sections of the creeks. Land clearance, ranching, localized logging, and other uses had also altered the vegetation on Stanford lands to the west, extending beyond the current-day Academic Preserve and onto today's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. For an account of the vegetation and landscape changes in the Palo Alto area in the 19th and early 20th centuries see William Cooper (1926) Vegetational development upon alluvia fans in the vicinity of Palo Alto, Calfornia. Ecology 7:325-473. [Fulltext in JSTOR for licensed users.] |
| 1879-80 | Reports in news sources of LS's estate plans included planting an arboretum and orchards. Residential gardens and park were supervised by Chinese gardener Ah Jim. LS made some of the largest nursery stock purchases ever known. (J. Cain, Sandstone & Tile 27, Spring/Summer 2003, p.5) |
| 1881-1884 | LS hired landscape architect Rudolph Ulrich, who created the Arizona Garden and supervised planting of the Park (the original arboretum). Twelve-thousand trees and shrubs were known to have been planted in a single year. In 1881 or earlier Ulrich collected in Arizona Territory and Mexico returning with 15 boxcar loads of plant material, divided among the railroad owners, Hotel del Monte, Golden Gate Park, and San Jose Normal School. |
| April, 1884 | Leland Stanford Jr. died. |
| 1885 | LS Jr. University Founding Grant. |
| 1886 | LS hired F.L. Olmsted to design landscape and overall plan for the university. |
| 1888 | Mausoleum was built after Olmsted re-sited construction to preserve a great, old coast live oak. Olmsted compiled a master list of plants, and revised it. In December Olmsted hired Thomas Douglas to superivise university landscaping including a university arboretum. LS approved an Arboretum/Forest memorandum including a foothill arboretum; later LS reversed approval of Olmsted's plan for a foothill forest, preserving for the future a part of that area's character as a California oak woodland. (Some of the Stanford foothills have been developed, including the extensive Syntex complex and SLAC). The original Olmsted landscape plan was reported in Garden and Forest, 1888. (J. Cain, Sandstone & Tile 27, Spring/Summer 2003, p.23). |
| 1889-1892 | Douglas supervised Chinese gardeners carrying out propagation, planting, and gardening. |
| Spring/Summer 1890 | Quad circles planted using many mature plants transplanted from Arizona Garden and the Stanford family residence on San Francisquito Creek. |
| Oct. 1, 1891 | University opened to students. |
| 1892 | Thomas Douglas left SU employ. |
| 1893 | Senator Stanford died and university financial crisis began. Chung Wah and Ah Wah tended the Arizona Garden (until 1925). |
| 1903 | Jane Stanford's address to the Trustees including comments on the Arboretum, excerpted at top of page. |
Trees.stanford.edu created and maintained by John Rawlings, rawlings@stanford.edu