| Hayes Arboretum | |
| Type: | Arboretum |
| Location: | Richmond, Indiana |
| Created: | June 1915 |
| Operator: | Stanley W. Hayes Research Foundation |
| Open: | Tue-Sat, 9AM-5PM |
The Hayes Arboretum is an arboretum of located in Richmond, Indiana, United States.[1] The main (west) entrance is open free to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., while the east entrance, which provides access to both hiking and mountain biking trails, is open daily from dawn to dusk. It is the primary project of the Stanley W. Hayes Research Foundation, a private operating foundation. The Foundation owns a total of of property in Wayne County, IN.
The Arboretum is an educational facility and a managed nature preserve,[2] collecting native wild plants indigenous to Wayne county and the Whitewater Valley Drainage Basin (an area encompassing 14 counties in west-central Ohio and east-central Indiana). It had claimed to include 172 species of trees, plants and shrubs native to the basin, but a 2007 study actually found 525 species.[3] It also contains a renovated 1833 dairy barn, Beech-Maple Trail (3/4 mile), Habitat Trail (1 mile), Springhouse Trail (1/4 mile), and History Trail (1 mile).
The Arboretum was first established in June 1915 when Stanley Wolcott Hayes began purchasing tracts of land to preserve the local old growth Beech-Maple Forest. He began reforesting the land, planting thousands of native trees and creating experimental plots, hoping to restore the land as when the first pioneers arrived. His estate, now Hayes Arboretum, includes:
Although not native to the Arboretum, the Arboretum includes the geology collection of a former Earlham College professor Dan Kinsey, who donated his collection in 1968. It contains at least one example of every type of rock native to Indiana.
A small historic gas station that was moved to the site has been restored for use as a museum documenting the history of the Hayes Family and the Hayes Track Appliance Company.
An 1833 dairy barn houses the arboretum's nature center, which includes information and interpretive displays about trees, native woods, flora and fauna. The building also contains a bird watching room, a live honey bee exhibit, and a sensory room full of natural objects and live specimens. Many programs are offered about regional plants, wildlife, and other nature related topics. Restrooms and a drinking fountain are located inside the Nature Center.