Wilder+Park+Conservatory

The conservatory and greenhouse in Wilder Park is a neat place to visit. It contains a lot of plants that are different species. The greenhouse contains many plants like perennials, annuals, Aloe Vera, cacti, marigolds, and many others. It’s a good place for school fieldtrips and you can learn a lot there.

A guy by the name of Seth Wadhams bought a farm named Burnhams Lot in 1868. There were no trees or plants on the farm and on this farm, he built a house and surrounded it with many different kinds of trees. Wadhams had hired landscapers and gardeners to work on his lawn and take care of it. Later on Seth’s son died, so in honor of him, Wadhams built a greenhouse which is attached to the end of the conservatory. Also, the greenhouse was built to help his wife overcome her sadness for her son.

After Seth Wadhams passed away in 1888, Aurelia Case King (Mrs. Henry King), daughter of Wadhams’s lifelong friend John R. Case, inherited his home. Mrs. Henry King later became interested in gardening. So, she created a flower garden and an herb garden too.

In the following years, in 1890, the son of Henry and Aurelia’s named Francis, married a lady named Louisa Yeoman. When Mr. Henry King’s death took place in 1898, the Francis Kings moved into Francis’s mother and father’s home. Then Louisa also became interested in her mother-in-laws gardens during this time, but never actually established her first garden until she moved into the McCormick home later on.

A picture was taken in 1975 of the conservatory on a summer day, 77 years from when the Francis Kings moved in.

Today, the greenhouse is a great place to visit. It is full of wonderful sweet smelling fragrances, it’s full of sunshine, and one of the best things is that towards the back, there’s a small pond full of koi fish. One of my best memories of the conservatory and greenhouse is when I was in second grade on a field trip. My class went there to learn about plants and we all planted a few different plants in a pot and got to take them home. I remember that I got to plant a ghost plant and a cactus. I’ve enjoyed the conservatory very much and it’ll continue to share its beauty from this day on in 2007!

When Aureila Case King died in 1901, Mrs. Henry Gorden Selfridge bought the property, and later Thomas E. Wilder purchased it in 1905. Wilder had renamed the lot “Lancaster Lodge”, which was the name of his home in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Before Wilder died in 1919, Thomas had offered Elmhurst Park District the northern six acres. A meeting took place and the park district decided to buy the six acres with the cost of $45,000. In 1923, The Elmhurst Park District Board made an addition to the original Seth Wadhams greenhouse and added a conservatory. A conservatory is a school where you learn about arts and a greenhouse is the building attached to the conservatory that holds the plants. Today the conservatory is in Wilder Park and is a fun place to go for field trips and learn about plants. Classes are held to adults and kids any age who want to learn about the conservatory. The conservatory is open 9am to 4pm everyday. Inside of the greenhouse there are many different kinds of plants and flowers. The greenhouse has many unique flowers that look beautiful and smell good too! The Greenhouse has many different types of plants such as marigolds, cacti, trees, chrysanthemums,

The Wilder Park Conservatory is a great place to go and have fun. I remember when I was little I was going to the greenhouse. I was so excited to see all of the plants and flowers. When I walked in I was overjoyed because the flowers were so pretty and I saw this little pond with fish in it. The conservatory and greenhouse is one of the best places you can go to have wonderful memories and a great experience.