Linda Hall treasured the lovely, wooded setting of her home and stated in her will that the land should be maintained as an arboretum.
The park-like 14-acre space has become an urban arboretum, featuring a wide variety of trees and many gardens, including the largest collection of tree peonies west of the Mississippi, with over 125 species.
Using GPS technology, coordinates for all of the trees in the arboretum were determined and loaded into ArcView mapping software. Clicking on any map point provides a photograph and more detailed information about the individual tree.
The Library’s main entrance is from Cherry Street on the east side of the property. The estate driveway was adapted to increasing car and foot traffic in 1970. The entrance features a divided set of entrance and exit drives, bracketed by tall brick columns and iron gates, low brick walls, and curving sidewalks. Gardens and plantings welcome visitors, as does an attendant at the courtesy booth.
A pen and ink drawing depicts the entrance as it appeared in the 1970s and much as it looks now.
A champion tree is the largest tree of a species in an area. A tree's status is determined by a formula created by the US Forest Service in which trunk circumference, height and average crown spread are professionally measured to give a total point value.
For more information about the champion trees at the Linda Hall Library, visit the resource guide: Champion Trees.
