John J. Tyler Arboretum

Tyler Arboretum
Giant Sequoia, November 2007
John J. Tyler Arboretum is located in Pennsylvania
John J. Tyler Arboretum
Location in Pennsylvania
John J. Tyler Arboretum is located in the United States
John J. Tyler Arboretum
Location in United States
Location515 Painter Rd., Media, PA 19063
Coordinates39°56′05″N 75°25′52″W / 39.93472°N 75.43111°W / 39.93472; -75.43111
Area657 acres (266 ha)
Built1710
Built byThomas Minshall (1738 house), Jacob Minshall (1777 addition)
ArchitectRobert Rodes McGoodwin (1932 stone house)
Architectural styleGeorgian Revival
NRHP reference No.03000080[1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 27, 2003

Tyler Arboretum is a nonprofit arboretum located at 515 Painter Road, Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.[2] It is open daily except for major holidays; an admission fee is charged to non-members.

The property's history began in 1681, when William Penn signed a "lease and release" agreement with Thomas Minshall, an English Quaker, for property in Pennsylvania that contained the site now occupied by the arboretum. Between 1681 and 1944, the property was home to eight generations of the same family. The arboretum itself started in 1825 when two brothers, Jacob and Minshall Painter, set aside land to systematically plant more than 1,000 varieties of trees and shrubs. In 1944, descendant Laura Tyler bequeathed the property, in memorial to her husband John J. Tyler, to be a nonprofit arboretum.[3][4]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[1]

Today, Tyler Arboretum attracts 70,000 visitors a year to its 650-acre campus and boasts 17 miles of pathways and hiking trails. The horticultural collections include the following major features:

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Zoning Map" (PDF). Middletown Township. Retrieved April 23, 2020. - The map indicates the location of the arboretum.
  3. ^ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania". CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on July 21, 2007. Retrieved January 7, 2012. Note: This includes Susan Mulchahey Chase (December 2001). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: John J. Tyler Arboretum" (PDF). Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  4. ^ Cheney, Jim (October 31, 2016). "Visiting the Beautiful and Historic Grounds of the Tyler Arboretum". UncoveringPA. Retrieved November 7, 2016.