Slayton Arboretum

A pond was excavated in 1928, and a field station, a hillside rock garden, waterfall, and pump house were added in 1929.

In the early 1990s the arboretum was re-discovered as an important asset to the college and recovery of the site was begun under the direction of Dr. David Crabtree.

Alumni and student support for the renewal of plantings and the conservation of the original structural elements was important in the restoration of the gardens during this time period.

Today the gardens are notable for stately mature trees, semi-natural settings, and collections of conifers, magnolia, viburnum, witchhazel, mountain ash, maple, oak, and hickory as well as several genera of hardy deciduous shrubs.

The arboretum also has heavy and repeated infestation with Japanese beetle and this may also play a role in the dynamics of the shrub community which has developed in the garden over the last seventy years.