Humphry Marshall (1722-1801)
West Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
One of the first nurserymen in the nation and the author of the first book on North American trees and shrubs, Arbustum Americanum: The American Grove, Marshall is known as the Father of American Dendrology. He regularly supplied native American plants to prominent Europeans eager to learn about species new to them. His plants graced the gardens of England's King George III and King Louis XVI of France. He built and lived in this house.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Humphry Marshall, a Chester County Quaker, became one of the first commercial nurserymen in the new nation and, in 1785, wrote Arbustum Americanum: The American Grove, the first book on North American trees and shrubs by an American. From the house he built here, he shipped native plants to eager European collectors curious about the flora of the New World. His work earned him the title Father of American Dendrology, and his specimens graced the royal gardens of King George III and King Louis XVI.
Why it matters
Marshall helped establish American botany as a science and carried the young republic's natural riches onto the world stage during the age of Enlightenment inquiry.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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