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==Comprehensive History==

==Comprehensive History==

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The Wooster Arboretum was established in 1908 by Edmund Secrest on a 75-acre area at the [[Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station]]. A few plantings of hardwood species were made as early as 1901, but the development of the Arboretum and a more planned planting of the acreage began in earnest in 1908. The arboretum has historically integrated forestry and horticulture in such a way as to permit studies in plantation management, wood utilization, forest genetics, and the testing of ornamentals<ref>"Tribute to a Man and Trees," <i>Wayne County Topics</i>, October 1954, p.6</ref>. The Arboretum was dedicated as the Secrest Arboretum in 1950 in memory of Secrest, known as the "father of forestry" in Ohio.

The Wooster Arboretum was established in 1908 by Edmund Secrest on a 75-acre area at the [[Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station]]. A few plantings of hardwood species were made as early as 1901, but the development of the Arboretum and a more planned planting of the acreage began in earnest in 1908. The arboretum has historically integrated forestry and horticulture in such a way as to permit studies in plantation management, wood utilization, forest genetics, and the testing of ornamentals<ref>"Tribute to a Man and Trees," <i>Wayne County Topics</i>, October 1954, p.6</ref>. The Arboretum was dedicated as the Secrest Arboretum in 1950 in memory of Secrest, known as the "father of forestry" in Ohio. By 1978, the Arboretum had grown to approximately 85 acres with over 2000 species, varieties, or cultivars of trees and shrubs, with the oldest remaining trees - yellow poplar, northern catalpa, and European larch - dating from 1903<ref>John E. Ford, <i>Finding List and Guide to the Secrest Arboretum</i>, p.1.</ref>.

In 1970, the Garden of Roses of Legend and Romance was established at the Arboretum near the [[Barnhart Rice House, Wooster, Ohio]]. Mrs. Samuel Forbes of Cleveland donated the funding for its creation, and the roses were a gift of Mr. Joseph Kern, a well-known rose nurseryman<ref>Robert E. Whitmoyer, <i>The View From the Tower</i>, p.39.</ref>. The 2.7-acre garden reached a peak of about 1500 rose bushes representing 500 varieties, some of which were rare when the garden began<ref>Melissa Green, "Roses are for show at research center," Akron Beacon Journal, 24 July 1994</ref>. The rose garden declined throughout the 2010s due to an incurable disease called rose rosette, and in 2019-2020, all of the roses were removed and the space cleared for an experimental space, starting with trial plantings of coneflower varieties, hydrangeas, and native honeysuckles<ref>Linda Hall, "Secrest Arboretum replacing its acclaimed rose garden," Akron Beacon Journal, March 18 2019</ref>.

In 1970, the Garden of Roses of Legend and Romance was established at the Arboretum near the [[Barnhart Rice House, Wooster, Ohio]]. Mrs. Samuel Forbes of Cleveland donated the funding for its creation, and the roses were a gift of Mr. Joseph Kern, a well-known rose nurseryman<ref>Robert E. Whitmoyer, <i>The View From the Tower</i>, p.39.</ref>. The 2.7-acre garden reached a peak of about 1500 rose bushes representing 500 varieties, some of which were rare when the garden began<ref>Melissa Green, "Roses are for show at research center," Akron Beacon Journal, 24 July 1994</ref>. The rose garden declined throughout the 2010s due to an incurable disease called rose rosette, and in 2019-2020, all of the roses were removed and the space cleared for an experimental space, starting with trial plantings of coneflower varieties, hydrangeas, and native honeysuckles<ref>Linda Hall, "Secrest Arboretum replacing its acclaimed rose garden," Akron Beacon Journal, March 18 2019</ref>.