Skip to main content
Use the right side menu to identify relevant boxes and place requests.

Hyattsville Horticultural Society scrapbooks

 Collection 0027-MDHC

The Hyattsville Horticultural Society scrapbooks consist of six of scrapbooks documenting the society's activities, which include programs, invitations, clippings, correspondence, financial and contest records, and certificates.

Dates

  • 1912-1982

Use and Access to Collection

This collection is open for research.

Duplication and Copyright Information

Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.

Extent

7.50 Linear Feet

Scope and Content of Collection

The Hyattsville Horticultural Society scrapbooks consist of six scrapbooks dating from 1912 to 1982, which were compiled by various members of the society, usually the president or historian. The scrapbooks document the activities of the society and its members.

Administrative History

H. M. Connelly, V. K. Chestnut, W. B. Ballard, and J. B. S. Norton founded the Hyattsville Horticultural Society, on the oldest garden clubs in America, during the winter of 1916-1917. J. B. S. Norton was a professor of botany and vegetable pathology at the University of Maryland for more than forty years. W. B. Ballard served the University in a number of capacities, as a pomologist at the Maryland Experiment State at the time of the Society's organization, and later as head of the Landscape Department. Dr. Chestnut served as the society's first president, and the founders rotated in this office for a number of years. Little else is known about the group's initial activities because the early minutes were lost during a flood. This organization of amateurs brought together people interested in horticulture and floriculture and organized a number of community beautification projects, including annual flower and garden shows. The members, limited to fifteen at the society's inception, met in each other's homes; wives served refreshments but were not initially permitted to become members. The Hyattsville Horticultural Society admitted Mrs. Mills O'Keefe, its first female member, by January 1921. The Hyattsville Horticultural Society has been and continues to be involved in a number of activities in the local community. The society held its first garden show in 1917, and the group annually organized a garden competition, a home and garden exhibition, spring and fall garden shows, children's competitions, and a number of social events and programs. The Hyattsville Horticultural Society continued to grow and eventually revised its constitution to allow an unlimited number of members, with each new membership dependent upon the unanimous approval of the other members of the Society. Although the Society maintains a lower profile today, its members remain active in the Hyattsville community.

Arrangement

The collection has been arranged into one series.

Series 1
Scrapbooks

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

The University of Maryland Libraries received the Hyattsville Horticultural Society scrapbooks from the Society in 1982.

Related Material

The University of Maryland Libraries hold the papers of one of the society's founders and longtime member J. B. S. Norton, as well as those of Theodore Bissell, another member of the society. Both men were professors at the University of Maryland's College Park campus.

Title
Guide to the Hyattsville Horticultural Society scrapbooks
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Michelle DeMartino.
Date
1997-03-01
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Library Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
Hornbake Library
4130 Campus Drive
College Park Maryland 20742
301-405-9212