Martha J van Artsdalen

Haverford College Arboretum Martha J van Artsdalen

In 1833, when the first 23 students arrived at what is now Haverford College, they found one school building surrounded by nearly 200 acres of farmland, woods, and a small creek. The story of how this landscape evolved into the park-like setting of today's campus is told through images spanning 150 years. Students and neighbors alike now enjoy an outstanding collection of trees, woods, a duck pond, and a nature trail. Reminiscences of retired staff and faculty children who grew up here, coupled with descriptions by the school's early students and professors, reveal a fascinating history. Here are majestic trees: oaks planted in 1834, American elm survivors of a devastating disease, and newly planted giants of tomorrow. Gardens once flourished where buildings now stand, and cows grazed on today's athletic fields. Students organized bobsled races down the lawn in the 1880s, and skaters enjoyed the frozen pond in the 1950s.