Mr. Letchworth had worked to restore the land that pioneers, in their struggle to survive, had ravaged by logging and paltry efforts at farming. After Mr Letchworth passed away Charles Dow, Chairman of the Letchworth Park Committee of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society kept in touch with the U.S. Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture for advice with respect to the forests of the Park. A forester named Sudsworth visited the park frequently with planting advice and helped plan the Arboretum.
Today when you exit the Visitor Center parking area and turn left toward the Glen Iris you will see planted stands of trees on both sides of the road that were planted in this effort beginning in 1912. The objective was to evaluate the various species and their suitability for forest planting in the area and demonstrate how new stands could be planted and nurtured. This was part of Mr Letchworth's dream but changed somewhat after his death to conform more to the European concept of forestry rather than his stated objective of restoring the natural look of the area. Mildred Anderson in Genesee Echoes quotes from a newspaper report of Letchworth talking to a group of editors, "The eight or nine thousand forest trees which I have planted up and down the river in this locality, are nearly all indigenous to this soil and have been planted just as the winds of heaven might have cast the seed". Neat rows of seedlings of many foreign species do not meet that standard. However, his objective will eventually be met because the forces of nature ultimately control the forest composition, except on those few area landscaped and cultivated.
The Arboretum received very little management care after the Park was removed from jurisdiction of the Scenic and Preservation Society. Park files contain photos of some of the stands being thinned and stems pruned in the early years but mainly the plots grew without a great deal of help. Close to the Visitor Center is a stand that was planted to hardwoods like ash, tulip poplar , honey locust, and oaks. There are reports of organized rabbit hunts and bounties paid for rabbits which would thrive on such seedlings in winter. The devastating effects of a severe ice storm in l976 are the reason some of the stands are rather thin or nearly eliminated. The stand of Jack Pine has very few if any trees remaining. The same can be said of the Scotch pine around the Inspiration Point area. You will note that all stands have an understory of young hardwoods or perhaps white pine or hemlock. These are indigenous tree varieties and all came about as in Mr Letchworth's poetic phrasing " as the winds of heaven might have cast the seed".
See photographs of the Letchworth Park Nursery in the 1920s.
Tom Breslin