Arbor Day First Celebrated (1872)

Arbor Day is a tree-planting rite of spring in all fifty states and in many countries around the world.  The date of celebration varies according to the ideal time to plant new trees, but the first Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10, 1872

J. Sterling Morton (born in 1832), a journalist and nature lover, moved to the Nebraska Territory from Michigan in 1854. He and his wife, Carrie, missed the abundant trees of their earlier home, so they planted their 160 acres of grassland with trees, bushes and flowers.  Morton became the editor of a newspaper in Nebraska City, and later Secretary of the Nebraska Territory.  He used his prominent position to promote interest in agriculture and the environment, especially tree planting.

Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902) founded Arbor Day (photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Nebraska became a state in 1867, and Morton was named to the state board of agriculture.  He convinced his colleagues to create a day to encourage Nebraskans to plant trees.  The board wanted to call it Sylan Day, emphasizing forests, but Morton held out for Arbor Day, to recognize that trees everywhere, not just in forests, had great value.  Morton won, and the first Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10, 1872.  Participants across the state planted more than one million trees!

An early Arbor Day celebration in Dayton, Ohio, 1919 (photo by American Forestry Association)

Just like the trees they planted, Arbor Day kept growing.  By 1882, schools across the country were participating, and by 1892, every state except Delaware had created its own Arbor Day (today, all fifty states celebrate Arbor Day).  Countries around the world began their own Arbor Day celebration, with Japan leading the way in 1883.  The Arbor Day website lists 33 countries with national celebrations.

J. Sterling Morton’s status grew along with his tree planting holiday. He became U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under Grover Cleveland, from 1893-1897.  As secretary, he was influential in creating the first national forest preserves.  Later, his son created the Morton Arboretum, outside Chicago, now one of the world’s foremost botanical reserves and research institutions.  In 1970, President Nixon created National Arbor Day, celebrated on the last Friday in April.

US postage stamp celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the first Arbor Day and the 100th birthday of J. Sterling Morton (photo by US Bureau of Engraving and Printing)

On the 100th anniversary of the first Arbor Day, the Arbor Day Foundation was established to continue and expand the work of tree planting and conservation around the U.S. and the globe.  The foundation has more than one million members and donors.  The group gives out more than 4 million seedlings each year as part of Arbor Day ceremonies.  It engages in a series of projects, to encourage tree plantings in cities, re-establish forests, improve the condition of street trees, teach students about trees and nature, and develop disease-resistant hybrids of imperiled species.  They are currently deeply involved in genetic crossing and testing of hazelnut cultivars, seeking those that are blight resistant and adaptable to a wide range of environmental conditions.

Arbor Day, according to its founder, is not like other holidays:  “Each of those reposes on the past, while Arbor Day proposes the future.” So, be on the lookout for Arbor Day celebrations in your state and community, and remember the motto of the Morton family:  “Plant Trees!”

References:

Arbor Day Foundation.  2017.  2017 Annual Report.  Available at:  https://www.arborday.org/generalinfo/annualreport/documents/2017-annual-report.pdf.  Accessed April 9, 2018.

Arbor Day Foundation.  The History of Arbor Day.  Available at:  https://www.arborday.org/celebrate/history.cfm.  Accessed April 9, 2018.

History.com.  History of Arbor Day.  Available at:  https://www.history.com/topics/the-history-of-arbor-day.  Accessed April 9, 2018.

Nebraskastudies.org.  J. Sterling Morton.  Available at:  http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0500/frameset_reset.html?http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0500/stories/0506_0100.html.  Accessed April 9, 2018.

The Morton Arboretum.  Arbor Day History.  Available at:  http://www.mortonarb.org/visit-explore/about-arboretum/mission-and-history/arbor-day-history.  Accessed April 9, 2018

This Month in Conservation

September 1
Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon, Died (1914)
September 2
President Roosevelt Dedicated Great Smoky National Park (1940)
September 3
Wilderness Act passed (1964)
September 4
Fort Bragg, Home of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, Established (1918)
September 5
UNESCO Established First World Heritage Sites (1978)
September 6
Alcide d’Orbigny, French Naturalist, Born (1802)
September 7
Edward Birge, Father of Limnology, born (1851)
September 8
UN Millennium Declaration ratified (2000)
September 9
First “Bug” Found in Computer (1945)
September 10
Henry Hardtner, Father of Southern Forestry, Born (1870)
September 11
World Wildlife Fund Began Operations (1961)
September 12
Canyonlands National Park Established (1964)
September 13
Walter Reed born (1851)
September 14
Marc Reisner, Author of Cadillac Desert (1948)
September 15
Darwin reaches the Galapagos Islands (1835)
September 16
Ed Begley Jr., Environmental Advocate, born (1949)
September 17
Edgar Wayburn, Wilderness Advocate, Born (1906)
September 18
Grey Owl, Pioneering Conservationist in Canada, Born (1888)
September 19
Urmas Tartes, Estonian Nature Photographer, born (1963)
September 20
AAAS Founded (1848)
September 21
Assateague Island National Seashore Created (1965)
September 22
Peace Corps becomes law (1961)
September 23
Rose Selected as U.S. National Flower (1986)
September 24
President Kennedy Dedicated Pinchot Institute (1963)
September 25
Pope Francis Addressed the UN on the Environment (2015)
September 26
Johnny Appleseed Born (1774)
September 27
“Silent Spring” Published (1962)
September 28
National Public Lands Day
September 29
Steinhart Aquarium opens (1923)
September 30
Hoover Dam Dedicated (1935)
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