The Gov. William Owsley House in Lancaster is getting an arboretum. (Ben Kleppinger Photo) |
LANCASTER — It may not look like much now, but the new evergreen trees standing in front of the Gov. William Owsley House are only the initial seeds of an ambitious, long-term plan to transform the historic property.
The trees, bushes and other plants now visible to passing motorists on U.S. 27 in south Lancaster are the first phase for what organizers hope eventually will become a native arboretum, providing natural beauty with local flavor for generations to come.
“It could take 10 years, it could take 10 months, it could take 50 years,” arboretum project board member McKinley Dailey said. “What you do is you lay out a plan and the plan comes to life later on.”
The idea and initial funding for the arboretum was born out of the death of a Kentucky man who was passionate about state history and nature.
Arboretum project board member James Sanders said his uncle, Jerome King Layton, always dreamed of starting an arboretum. When Layton died, he left a trust designated to fund the creation of just such a place.
Sanders, a member of the Owsley House board, saw an opportunity to fulfill his uncle’s wishes by starting the arboretum at the county landmark.
Sanders, Dailey and fellow board member Julie Rodes got together with McAlister Stone and the Lexington-based landscaping company Henkel-Denmark to assemble a multi-phase project to make over the entire landscape of the Owsley House.
The plan includes hundreds of plants, an amphitheater, an additional entrance driveway for the house and an expanded, landscaped parking lot.
It also saves room for another ongoing project, a replica of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and incorporates the county’s new walking trail that loops the Lancaster city lake.
The first phase, which included almost 140 plantings on the U.S. 27 side of the property, was paid for by Layton’s trust.
The first phase of the arboretum, as well as a diagram of the plans for future phases, will be on display at the Owsley House tonight, during a special “Early Thanksgiving” Third Friday event from 7-9 p.m. The event also features tours of the Owsley House from guides dressed in period costumes, music from the Danville Dulcimers and a mini-potluck.
The entire arboretum project uses only native Kentucky plants and incorporates other native resources as well. For example, the stone for planned benches will be from Kentucky, Dailey said.
Dailey said the entire project will probably cost about $100,000. Organizers are preparing for fundraising campaigns down the road, but those are probably several months away. Successful fundraising campaigns cannot be planned overnight, he said.
As part of the fundraising, a portion of the funds raised will be put into an endowment that will provide a self-perpetuating source of money for maintenance and upkeep. The goal is to hire an arborist to take care of the grounds, Dailey said.
Sanders said longevity of the arboretum is one of the most important aspects of the project.
“You’re talking about the life of trees,” he said. “This is something that will go well beyond the lifetime of myself and the other people on the board with me.”
The trees, bushes and other plants now visible to passing motorists on U.S. 27 in south Lancaster are the first phase for what organizers hope eventually will become a native arboretum, providing natural beauty with local flavor for generations to come.
“It could take 10 years, it could take 10 months, it could take 50 years,” arboretum project board member McKinley Dailey said. “What you do is you lay out a plan and the plan comes to life later on.”
The idea and initial funding for the arboretum was born out of the death of a Kentucky man who was passionate about state history and nature.
Arboretum project board member James Sanders said his uncle, Jerome King Layton, always dreamed of starting an arboretum. When Layton died, he left a trust designated to fund the creation of just such a place.
Sanders, a member of the Owsley House board, saw an opportunity to fulfill his uncle’s wishes by starting the arboretum at the county landmark.
Sanders, Dailey and fellow board member Julie Rodes got together with McAlister Stone and the Lexington-based landscaping company Henkel-Denmark to assemble a multi-phase project to make over the entire landscape of the Owsley House.
The plan includes hundreds of plants, an amphitheater, an additional entrance driveway for the house and an expanded, landscaped parking lot.
It also saves room for another ongoing project, a replica of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and incorporates the county’s new walking trail that loops the Lancaster city lake.
The first phase, which included almost 140 plantings on the U.S. 27 side of the property, was paid for by Layton’s trust.
The first phase of the arboretum, as well as a diagram of the plans for future phases, will be on display at the Owsley House tonight, during a special “Early Thanksgiving” Third Friday event from 7-9 p.m. The event also features tours of the Owsley House from guides dressed in period costumes, music from the Danville Dulcimers and a mini-potluck.
The entire arboretum project uses only native Kentucky plants and incorporates other native resources as well. For example, the stone for planned benches will be from Kentucky, Dailey said.
Dailey said the entire project will probably cost about $100,000. Organizers are preparing for fundraising campaigns down the road, but those are probably several months away. Successful fundraising campaigns cannot be planned overnight, he said.
As part of the fundraising, a portion of the funds raised will be put into an endowment that will provide a self-perpetuating source of money for maintenance and upkeep. The goal is to hire an arborist to take care of the grounds, Dailey said.
Sanders said longevity of the arboretum is one of the most important aspects of the project.
“You’re talking about the life of trees,” he said. “This is something that will go well beyond the lifetime of myself and the other people on the board with me.”
