Springside Arboretum

Serenely set in an urban neighborhood, Springside is a 22-acre historic designed landscape and historic site that was once the country estate of Matthew Vassar, the Poughkeepsie brewer, philanthropist, and founder of Vassar College. Springside is the only landscape of Andrew Jackson Downing, one of the founders of landscape architecture in America, to survive largely intact. Today, this National Historic Landmark is a historic site on the Hudson River Valley Greenway Trail. Visitors enjoy walking Springside's carriage trails year-round.

Springside originally included extensive plantings of evergreen trees (cedars, firs, spruces, pines, and hemlocks) combined with native deciduous ones (oak, ash, maple, birch, walnut, sycamore, basswood, and elm.) This combination reflected Downing’s ideas about the contrast of the picturesque and beautiful modes of landscape design: he deemed these deciduous species graceful and beautiful, whereas the conifers were “spirited, wild and picturesque,” appropriate for terrain that was “wild, broken.” The estate further included understory trees and shrubs (dogwood, redbud, viburnum, and magnolia.) Many of the species originally planted are still to be found on the site. Downing’s design, and thus our site, encompasses several different plant communities.

The mature vegetation of the site still maintains the general distribution and many of the species and specimens laid out by Downing, although obviously greatly increased in height and girth. We have catalogued over 50 distinct species in the tree canopy, and are currently preparing an application for Arbnet level I accreditation. Among the specimens that existed or were planted c. 1850 when Springside was created are sycamore, larch, American chestnut, gingko, and walnut.