Apr 06, 2023
Arbor Lodge
Built 1855, for Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902) and his wife Caroline Joy French (1833-1881). Today, the neo-classical mansion operates as a museum (April to December) and since 1923 it has been officially known as Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Arboretum, after becoming Nebraska's first state park to be open throughout the year. Arbor Lodge - often said to resemble a smaller version of the White House with it's stately two-sided porticoes on three sides - was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1975.. Over a period of fifty years, J. Sterling Morton and his wife created a country estate abundant with flowers, vines and over 270 varieties of trees and shrub suitable to the Nebraska air. He imported trees from every corner of the world in order to test their suitability to create windbreaks or enliven the surrounding plains. The gardens include apple orchards and acres of oaks, maples, chestnuts, and pines, including at least ten state-champion trees. It was Morton who urged Nebraskans to fill the empty prairies with trees, culminating in Arbor Day, a holiday that spread throughout the nation and is still observed today. Morton and his wife arrived from Detroit in 1855 and purchased a 160 acre plot of land for $200 on which they built a modest four room L-shaped frame home. The house and surrounding estate grew with his fortunes until it resembled a southern colonial mansion of the ante-bellum, and his estate an arboretum. The first extension to their property was made in 1871, and then again in 1879 when the two-story porch was added across the front. After Morton died in 1902, the house passed to their son Joy Morton (1855-1934) and his wife Carrie Jane Lake (1857-1915). The following year, Joy hired the architect Jarvis Hunt to redesign and enlarge Arbor Lodge into a 52-room mansion that would serve as his family's summer home. The Sun Room contains a fine Tiffany skylight with a grape wreath design and to this day almost all of the rooms contain original pieces of Morton furniture from the Victorian and Empire eras. In 1922, Joy Morton established his own arboretum - The Moreton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois - and to his honor his father's memory, the following year he gave Arbor Lodge to the State of Nebraska, thereby creating it's first state park. The mansion has since been operated as a museum containing many pieces to do with the early history of the state. Nearby outbuildings contain early carriages, steam-driven vehicles, fire wagons, and gasoline-driven vehicles that had belonged to the Mortons. Though many of the original apple orchards were destroyed, in the 1990s Winesaps, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Jonathans and Jonadels have all been replanted on the estate.
Arbor Lodge
Built 1855, for Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902) and his wife Caroline Joy French (1833-1881). Today, the neo-classical mansion operates as a museum (April to December) and since 1923 it has been officially known as Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Arboretum, after becoming Nebraska's first state park to be open throughout the year. Arbor Lodge - often said to resemble a smaller version of the White House with it's stately two-sided porticoes on three sides - was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1975.. Over a period of fifty years, J. Sterling Morton and his wife created a country estate abundant with flowers, vines and over 270 varieties of trees and shrub suitable to the Nebraska air. He imported trees from every corner of the world in order to test their suitability to create windbreaks or enliven the surrounding plains. The gardens include apple orchards and acres of oaks, maples, chestnuts, and pines, including at least ten state-champion trees. It was Morton who urged Nebraskans to fill the empty prairies with trees, culminating in Arbor Day, a holiday that spread throughout the nation and is still observed today. Morton and his wife arrived from Detroit in 1855 and purchased a 160 acre plot of land for $200 on which they built a modest four room L-shaped frame home. The house and surrounding estate grew with his fortunes until it resembled a southern colonial mansion of the ante-bellum, and his estate an arboretum. The first extension to their property was made in 1871, and then again in 1879 when the two-story porch was added across the front. After Morton died in 1902, the house passed to their son Joy Morton (1855-1934) and his wife Carrie Jane Lake (1857-1915). The following year, Joy hired the architect Jarvis Hunt to redesign and enlarge Arbor Lodge into a 52-room mansion that would serve as his family's summer home. The Sun Room contains a fine Tiffany skylight with a grape wreath design and to this day almost all of the rooms contain original pieces of Morton furniture from the Victorian and Empire eras. In 1922, Joy Morton established his own arboretum - The Moreton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois - and to his honor his father's memory, the following year he gave Arbor Lodge to the State of Nebraska, thereby creating it's first state park. The mansion has since been operated as a museum containing many pieces to do with the early history of the state. Nearby outbuildings contain early carriages, steam-driven vehicles, fire wagons, and gasoline-driven vehicles that had belonged to the Mortons. Though many of the original apple orchards were destroyed, in the 1990s Winesaps, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Jonathans and Jonadels have all been replanted on the estate.
Apr 06, 2023
Posted Date
Apr 06, 2023
Historical Record Date
Apr 06, 2023
Source Name
House Histree
