Green Bay Botanical Garden Site Has Horticultural Past
Research into the history of the property Green Bay Botanical Garden (GBBG) has been developed on, reveals a horticultural past that ties the plans for the property into a kind of horticultural continuity. The NWTC property, or as it is commonly known, the old Larsen orchard was originally part of a vast acreage owned by the William Larsen family of Green Bay.
This acreage lay within the Town of Hobart, on what was once Oneida Indian Reservation land. According to a 1951 edition of “The Wisconsin Magazine,” William Larsen founded a wholesale fruit and vegetable business in 1882. He marketed the produce in the surrounding Green Bay area and expanded his business into a canning operation and founded what we know today as Agrilink Foods.
The Brown County register of deed office reveals that the 65-acre GBBG site was acquired by Larsen, parcel by parcel, in the early part of the 20th century. The earliest plots were bought in 1909, the latest in 1915. According to James Wagner, former treasurer of the Larsen Co. (now Agrilink Foods), apples from this orchard were canned into applesauce by the company during WWII. Apples were also sold at the company apple store, located near Larsen Co. on North Broadway. Later, the orchard became a pick-your-own operation, which was in business until the property began to be sold off.
After years of horticultural use, the property entered a transitional stage. In 1969, NWTC bought a 198-acre property, including the Larsen orchard on which the school was built. The orchard property was upgraded in the late 1970’s to encourage passive recreational use by the general public. Under the direction of NWTC, the US Army Corps of Engineers built a wetlands walkway and a lookout tower, established cross-country ski trails, and constructed the drainage system that resulted in the creation of the pond. The orchard site became a place for the general public to ski, hike, walk, startle a browsing deer, photograph a wildflower, and to enjoy seasonal changes.
In March of 1978, the nucleus group which later became Green Bay Botanical Garden came onto the scene. The group (named Plants in the Urban Environment) met to find ways to promote plants in Green Bay. A botanical garden sub-committee was formed which included Robert Mongin as chair, Jim Beard, Roger Murphy, Jerry Landwehr, Ray Pagel, Dave Parsons, Paul Hartman, Glenn Spevacek, and Sister Nivard Schaefer. This group began looking for possible botanical garden sites. Thirteen sites were chosen by November of 1978 including UWGB, the Wildlife Sanctuary, Brown Co. Mental Health Center and NWTC. Eventually the group selected NWTC as the top site based on detailed examination of criteria.
In March of 1982, Glenn Spevacek became chair of the group which developed bylaws, seated a board, and incorporated as a non-profit organization. Green Bay Botanical Garden, Inc. continued to pursue a garden site. Hartman says, “We started over completely, with an open mind as to what would be the best site.” The group looked at over twenty sites and measured them against the criteria. NWTC again was selected as the most suitable property in the spring of 1986. In November of 1987, NWTC approved the lease proposal.
As the site passed into the hands of GBBG, they not only inherited a piece of property with a horticultural tradition, but they began to build their own horticultural history. They will be the special stewards of the land. The botanical garden will be the next and final phase for the “old Larsen orchard”. Its history is ending, the Botanical Gardens is just beginning.