David Hosack - Elgin Botanical Garden in New York

Elgin Botanical Garden in New York

In 1801, Hosack purchased twenty acres of land in a fashionable section of New York City. At the time, the land was in a rural area, a full three and one-half miles from the city limit. "The whole tract of land was intended by Professor Hosack for a botanical garden, the prime object of which was to be the collection and cultivation of native plants of this country, especially such as possess medicinal properties or are otherwise useful." Elgin, as it was called, was the first public botanical garden in the United States.

At his own expense, Hosack landscaped the garden with a variety of indigenous and exotic plants. By 1805, the garden was home to 1,500 species of plants, the majority, of American origin. The following year, he published a catalogue of the plants found in the botanic garden at Elgin. "The catalogue, now extremely rare, contains an extensive list of the plants under cultivation and was intended as a guide for students and others visiting the gardens."

The New York State Legislature passed an act in 1810 that allowed the State of New York to purchase what was known as Elgin Botanical Garden. Care of the garden was placed in the hands of the Regents of the University (now known as SUNY Board of Regents).

Unfortunately, the garden was eventually abandoned, fell into decay and was later sold to raise funds for Columbia College. It was felt that Dr. Hosack was so preoccupied with his endeavors in the "inauguration" of Rutgers Medical College, that he did not have time or money to continue the garden.