It was an open woodland dominated by Mount Tabor Oak, which extended from Kfar Yona in the north to Ra'anana in the south.

The local Arab inhabitants traditionally used the area for pasture, firewood and intermittent cultivation.

The intensification of settlement and agriculture in the coastal plain during the 19th century led to deforestation and subsequent environmental degradation.

It was built on the site of the Qalmaniya estate founded by Moshe Gredinger, a British businessman, who visited Palestine in April 1926.

In 1945, Gredinger wrote to Avraham Harzfeld, a founder of the Histadrut Labor Federation in Palestine, who proposed establishing a training institute there commemorating Berl Katznelson.