The chapter honors John Bartram (1699-1777), a renowned botanist, naturalist, and explorer who established America’s first botanic garden devoted to the collection and study of North American plants. Between 1728 and 1777 John and his son William traveled the length of eastern North America, from Lake Ontario to Florida and as far west as the Mississippi River to collect trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants for his botanic garden. John and William are credited with identifying and introducing into cultivation more than 200 native plants. John Bartram authored “Diary of the Journey Through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida” which documented his plant collecting in Florida during the 1760s. He was the first to classify Florida’s vegetation according to the new Linnaean system.
John Bartram resided in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at an estate along the banks of the Schuylkill River and entertained many prominent Patriots including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. His estate and gardens have been preserved and still welcome guests to its 45-acre arboretum. Bartram Gardens is a Fairmount Park property operated by the John Bartram Association and has been designated a National Historic Landmark House and Garden.
CONTACT INFORMATION
National Daughters of the American Revolution
John Bartram Chapter, NSDAR, The Villages, Florida 