In 1855, J. Sterling Morton had a vision. A vision in which the world would become an environmentally conscience community that cared about our planet. After building a modest four-room house in the startup carriage town of Nebraska City, Morton started importing multiple species of trees to the acreage. Today, the house has grown into a 52-room mansion surrounded by 270 varieties of trees and shrubs. It sits on 260 acres of land just outside of Nebraska City.
Last fall the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission announced it would immediately close 29 historical sites and recreation areas due to nearly $40 million worth of repairs needed across the state. One of the areas that was slated for closure was the park that Morton had set the ground work for: the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park. Tammy Partsch is the President of the Friends of Arbor Lodge Foundation. She says several groups teamed up to save the Southeast Nebraska site.
“A group of people from our community got together including our Friends of Arbor Lodge Foundation, and decided we needed to come up with a plan to make sure this didn’t happen again,” said Partsch. “Our plan was to take control of the management of Arbor Lodge State Historical Park.”
But taking control of a state historical park is no small task. State Senator Dan Watermeier introduced LB 1033 to the Nebraska Legislature in January. The bill would provide $2.1 million to fix deferred maintenance projects and get the park up to speed. Watermeier says that as soon as those projects were fixed control of the park would be shifted to a cooperative of local groups.
“It’s a very unusual thing and there’s going to be an amount of time that will go on there where they’ll have to prove the fact that they can actually follow through and manage that project like what they’re hoping to do,” said Watermeier. “That will relieve the pressure from the state to have to maintain those properties, and is really going to be a win-win for everybody.”
The proposed renovations and deferred maintenance projects that the state funding would pay for include a new heating and air conditioning system for the mansion, as well as a sprinkler system, fencing and updates to the bathrooms and picnic shelters. Partsch says that all of these projects would help to benefit the park.
“If we want to create a place that people want to go and visit and have family reunions and picnics and parties, we need to have the facilities available for that,” said Partsch.
LB 1033 was later combined as a part of two other Game and Parks appropriation bills into LB 905, which totaled $17.5 million for deferred projects throughout the state. This left one big question on the minds of those involved with the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, just how much of that money would their park see?
“Well that’s the $2.107 million question. The three Game & Parks bills that were rolled into one do not equal the amount that the Legislature approved and passed on does not equal what those three bills were,” said Partsch. “So, there is a possibility that we will not get all the money we asked for. We certainly hope that we can work with the Game & Parks to come to an agreement.”
Watermeier says that there are three areas that LB 905 will go toward. In addition to the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, funding will be directed toward a project at Ponca State Park and the remaining balance will go towards 88 separate compliance issues that exist throughout the state.
Watermeier also says that by providing funding for the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, the state legislature has invested in a truly special area of the state. According to Watermeier, the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park has three things going for it. First, the mansion provides a museum and tourism dollars. Second, the Arbor Day Farm provides a living history experience. Third, the Friends of Arbor Lodge Foundation, which supports the entire operation. He says that these three things combine to form a special place.
“I’m from the area, I’m from the district, I grew up with this — combine that with the apple industry in Nebraska City, there’s no other place in the state of Nebraska that has three things going for it,” said Watermeier.
The Arbor Lodge State Historical Park is also an important revenue generator for Nebraska City in terms of tourism dollars. Thanks in part to the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, Nebraska City was recently tabbed as number nine on a list of the top 20 small towns to visit in the USA by Smithsonian Magazine. Partsch says that this is yet another reason that this park should remain open.
“We know that if it were not for tourism, Nebraska City would be like a lot of other small towns in Nebraska and just be slowly dying away,” said Partsch. “So we know that this is an iconic place that will draw a lot of people, especially now that being environmentally-friendly is very popular, it’s very trendy, hopefully not just a trend, but that’s the way things are going to be right now. Everybody wants to go green and do what’s right for the environment.”
Looking ahead to the future, the current language in LB 905 is aimed to transfer control of the park to local organizations. Watermeier says that transferring control to people who are passionate about the park could ensure the park’s longevity.
“You know we all talk about the efficiency of government not being as good as private business, and this is a classic example that I think, this Arbor Day Historical Park can be run at 99% efficiency where we have very little overhead, very little administrative costs,” said Watermeier. “Compared to something inside of state government, which might be — I’m just throwing out numbers — might be 75% efficient. I really look forward to that. This is going to be a great way to get something in the hands of the people that are really passionate about it.”
Keeping and maintaining the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park has always been a major priority for the citizens of Nebraska City. Watermeier says that the people of Nebraska City are really appreciative of what they have.
“There was a lot of support,” said Watermeier. “I’ll tell you what it was based off of was the fact that the local people there are passionate about making sure that it has history.”
Partsch echoed that sentiment, saying that the support her organization has received from the community has been overwhelming.
“To us, having the support of everybody in the community and having people say ‘great job’ and ‘thank you for working on this’ just really means a lot to us because we know that what we’re doing, it means something to people here,” said Partsch.
After part of LB 905 was vetoed by Governor Dave Heineman, the Nebraska Unicameral voted 37-11 to override the line-item vetoes and grant the appropriation to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Currently, it will be up to the Game and Parks Commission to decide on how much funding the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park will receive.
The Arbor Lodge State Historical Park is open daily from 11 AM to 5 -M. To find out about special promotions at the park, you can visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/arborlodgestatepark or you can call 402-873-7222.
When J. Sterling Morton began his vision of a more environmentally-conscience world all those years ago, he could have never imagined how much of an impact his estate could have. From a national holiday about preservation and the earth, to a farm that supports a small Southeast Nebraska community with tourism, the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park is truly one of the most historic places in our region.
You can listen to the full report from MavRadio’s Earth Day Special 2014 by clicking on the audio file below.
