A History of
Branching Out
Glenview is known for many things , but did you know that it has been known for its trees for hundreds of years ? When settlers first came to the Glenview area in the 1830s , they encountered an endless sea of tall prairie grasses interspersed by “ islands ” or “ groves ” of majestic oak trees . An ancient cottonwood tree among the groves was discovered to be a local landmark for Native American tribes , and was considered to be the largest tree in the Mississippi Valley . This sacred tree was reported to be 165 feet tall with a circumference of 45 feet and an estimated age of 600 years old .
While most of the original groves were unfortunately harvested by early settlers for timber , Glenview became home to many nurseries and continued its tree-loving legacy . In 1847 , Dr . John Kennicott and his son Charles opened the first major nursery in Northern Illinois at the all-familiar site we now know as The Grove .
From its very beginning in 1927 , the Park District was founded by those who shared a passion for the natural world .
Louis Cole , the first Superintendent of Parks and one of the Park District ’ s original founders , was himself an owner of a local nursery and had a passion for protecting shared community spaces where residents could enjoy the beauty of nature .
Today , the Park District has a goal to plant between 200-300 trees throughout the community each year . Reaching this goal helps us to beautify the parks ; provide habitat for wildlife ; replace old , damaged or sick trees ; and maintain a strong and healthy balance in our species diversity , which helps protect against disease or pests .
What ’ s more , many of those newly planted trees come from the Park District ’ s very own nursery ! Throughout our history , the Park District has attracted tree lovers interested in growing and propagating our local trees . In the 1980s and prior to the establishment of a Park District nursery , former Maintenance Supervisor and Arborist Mike Sullivan was known to stealthily plant seeds and acorns along the perimeters of parks and nurture the seedlings until they could be transplanted to a new home . In 1989 , former Superintendent of Park Services Fred Gullen informally started a nursery space outside the Park Services East building . With a background in horticulture , Fred always had a love of collecting and experimenting with growing acorns and seeds from local trees , and especially rare species hard to find in commercial nurseries at the time .
In the 1990s , Fred oversaw an eagle scout project from a local troop in which 500 oak trees were planted throughout the space that is now known as Community Park West . At the time , a plan for the
WIN A TREE TO PLANT IN YOUR YARD !
Be one of the first 25 people to complete the form at the QR code to the right and win a seedling tree for your yard . All participants will be notified if they are a winner or not in November . Trees will come with care and planting instructions .