Fell Arboretum

Fell Arboretum
Fell Arboretum
	A variety of species of trees grace the walk to Fell Hall, seen here in early spring.
Location	Illinois State University
Nearest city	Normal, Illinois
Area	490 acres (200 ha)
Created	1858
Founder	Jesse W. Fell

The Fell Arboretum is an arboretum located across the campus of Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.

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Early plans for the arboretum began in 1858 when Jesse W. Fell, founder of Illinois State University, contacted landscape designer William Saunders (botanist). Saunders planned a layout for what would eventually become The Quad for the university's campus.^[1]

In 1867, Jesse Fell obtained $3,000 from the state legislature for campus landscaping.^[1] Fell planted 1,740 trees on campus that year and 107 trees the following year. An enthusiastic tree planter, Fell wished the campus to contain every tree native to Illinois. In 1995 the campus was formally registered as an arboretum and named in Fell's honor.^[2]

The arboretum is an ArbNet Level II accredited arboretum.^[3]

The arboretum contains over 4,000 trees representing over 100 varieties.^[3] Each tree is numbered, marked, and mapped. species represented include:

[1]
Freed, John (2009). Educating Illinois: Illinois State University, 1857-2007 (2nd ed.). Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company Publishers. p. 67. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
[2]
"History". Fell Arboretum. Illinois State University. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
[3]
"Arbnet | Fell Arboretum". arbnet.org. Retrieved 2023-10-13.