Peiffer Memorial Arboretum and Nature Preserve

The arboretum features woodlands, hiking trails, memorials to a World War II aviator who crashed on the site, and a Path of Leadership honoring past leaders of the local community.

The property is bounded by the Yellow Breeches Creek to the south, Interstate 83 to the west, the Beacon Hill development to the east and Simson Ferry Road to the north.

He initially intended to establish the non-profit arboretum to honor his mother and his father Howard, for their commitment to land preservation and agriculture.

[4] After acquiring the property, Peiffer learned of an airplane crash on the site in 1944 that killed Evelyn Sharp – a young aviator for the U.S. Army.

By the late 1950s, the site was part of Drexel Hills, New Cumberland and the adjacent John Fox Estate/Foxlea farm in Lower Allen Township.

Inductees are memorialized with a plaque set in small granite square stones around a path to the north side of the main house.

Persons honored (with link to plaque photo and inscription) include: The Welcome Center is designed after the historic Caleb Pusey House built in 1683 in Upland, Pennsylvania.

The aircraft experienced an engine failure on takeoff and Sharp attempted to land on what was then an open field – now a forested area atop the hiking trail on the northwest side of the Arboretum.

[25] Sharp was one of the original Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) pilots, with over 3,000 flight hours logged when she joined.

[26] The arboretum contains two memorials to Sharp – one at the front entrance, which includes original P-38 propeller blades (although not from the accident aircraft), and another atop the west-side hiking trail at the approximate site of the crash, marked by a pile of field stones and an American flag.