Texas Arbor Day History

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Arbor Day Began in Nebraska

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The first Arbor Day in our nation was held in Nebraska in 1872.  An editor and politician, J. Sterling Morton, guided an Arbor Day resolution through the Nebraska state legislature. Residents of the Great Plains recognized how much trees could do for them, and they enthusiastically embraced Morton’s vision.

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Some 30 years later, President Theodore Roosevelt strongly supported Arbor Day during his 2 terms from 1901-1908.At this time, our nation’s forests were being exhausted by over-zealous timber harvesting. President Roosevelt sent a letter to the children of the United States in which he wrote, “A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as hopeless.”

Though Arbor Day had the President’s support, the tradition was not yet federally recognized and remained a state-by-state event. By 1920, 45 states had adopted an annual Arbor Day. But finally in 1972, at the 100th anniversary of the first Arbor Day, President Richard Nixon proclaimed the last Friday of April to be National Arbor Day. 

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Texas Arbor Day

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17 years after the Nebraska celebration that started the tradition, an Arbor Day in Texas first occurred in Temple on February 22, 1889,. W. Goodrich Jones led the citizens of Temple in a mass meeting to call for a tree planting campaign along the city streets. He planted Temple’s first tree in town, a pecan. 

Mr. Jones was an interesting man. For 60 years, he was a banker and continually advocated for conservation which left a legacy of enduring protection for trees. He is known as the "Father of Forestry in Texas". An historical marker is erected in his honor  in Jones Park in Temple, and the WG Jones State Forest in Conroe bears his name. His family established an ongoing fellowship in forestry conservation and research in his name.
In the same year as the Temple event, the Texas legislature passed a bill to declare February 22nd as Texas Arbor Day. One year after the Temple tree planting event, the first statewide observance of Arbor Day was held in Austin. 

When the law expired, the tradition continued by annual proclamation of the governor, usually on Washington's birthday. In 1949, 60 years after the Temple event, the state legislature adopted a resolution designating the 3rd Friday in January as Texas Arbor Day. It later moved to the last Friday in April to align with National Arbor Day. But planting a tree in Texas in April does not give the tree its best chance of survival during our hot, often dry, summers. So in 2013, the Texas Legislature officially declared Texas Arbor Day to be held on the first Friday in November. The state’s arborists and foresters were elated with the date change as it captures our climate’s best window of opportunity to give newly planted trees plenty of time to develop roots before our hot, dry summers approach. And, so it continues today. 

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