Appleford/Parsons-Banks Arboretum

Stone farmhouse built in the late 18th century

Appleford/Parsons-Banks Arboretum (24 acres) is a non-profit arboretum and country estate located at 770 Mount Moro Road, Villanova, Pennsylvania.[1]

Appelford began in 1682 with William Penn's grant of 100 acres (0.40 km2) to James Moore. In 1728 Robert Jones erected a one-story stone farmhouse on the site, parts of which still stand. The house was enlarged and updated over the years, and the property grew to be as large as 800 acres (3.2 km2) before it was broken up circa 1900. Today's estate was created in the 1920s by landscape architect Thomas Sears and architect R. Brognard Okie, and contains the furniture and collections of its last owners, Lewis and Anabel Parsons. Mrs. Parsons donated the property in 1973 to Lower Merion Township.[2]

The arboretum contains streams and ponds, woods, rhododendron stands, a rose garden, copper beeches, stone walls, and a series of formal gardens.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Klein, William (1995). Gardens of Philadelphia & the Delaware Valley. Temple University Press. pp. 157–159. ISBN 9781566393133.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Appleford/Parsons-Banks Arboretum 1930-1998". Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS). Retrieved 26 May 2014.

Coordinates: 40°03′10″N 75°19′33″W / 40.0529°N 75.3258°W