The Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens is a 120-acre property with an interesting history. From about 1944 to 1961, the Humphries Gold Mining Company operated strip mines in this area of Jacksonville. Despite its name, Humphries did not mine for gold here but for minerals to make titanium. These mining activities severely impacted soils and vegetation in parts of the Jacksonville Arboretum, but these areas are recovering. In the early 1970s as a condition to an EPA Grant for building the Arlington East treatment facility, the City of Jacksonville purchased the property as a passive recreation and open space buffer around the treatment plant. For the next 30 years, however, the property went unused and was sometimes abused by illegal dumping.
In 2004, a group of citizens began discussions with the City to lease the property for recreational use as an arboretum. The lease was worked out, and the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens officially opened to the public in November 2008. At the time the Arboretum opened, there was a paved parking area, the Lake Loop, Jones Creek and Ravine trails. All of the trails, benches, board walks, and picnic tables in the Arboretum were built by volunteers from the community.
