The Patrick Gass Garden is in its first stages of development. This garden will memorialize Patrick Gass role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806.
Patrick Gass Garden (Photo taken on June 15, 2012)
This garden will memorialize the leading role of a native son in a seminal event in the U.S. history - The Lewis and Clarke Expedition of 1804-1806. The project will present a horticultural and historical experience that demonstrates the importance of flora and agriculture in the young and expanding Republic. It is intended that the Gass Garden offer an educational experience for youth groups, school groups, historic groups, tourists, and public visitors.
The garden will border the entrance to the limestone house where Patrick Gass was born and where a Pennsylvania Museum and Historical Commission marker now stands. The mission of the garden is multi-fold. We will offer a horticulture experience, an historical educational experience for visitors and school groups, and a recreational experience while beautifying the property. Plant species will be selected using two criteria: Flora reported in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium and which is viable to our area and flora documented in the local area for the 18th and early 19th century.
Dr. Doris Goldman of the Renfrew Institute has agreed to act as a consultant on the project. Interpretive signage and printed brochures and literature will tie the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition and the local history of the Gass House to the plant material.
