Photo Credit: Genesee County Parks, Flint, Mi.
Fifty years ago, Forbes and Martha Merkley ran a successful dairy farm just a few minutes east of downtown Flint, Mich. It was a magnificent spread of land, a gently rolling landscape with open meadows, mature forests, wetlands, and ponds. In the 1960s Genesee County commissioners were looking for property to convert to parkland, and the Merkleys were making plans to retire. It was the perfect partnership.
The Merkleys donated 383 acres to the county with instructions for its development; the family also included a trust fund to help develop and sustain the gift. Using a combination of their names, the land became For-Mar Nature Preserve and Arboretum. It opened in 1970.
Martha Merkley was quite specific in designating how the property was to be used. A lover of nature and wildlife, she wanted part of the land to become a nature preserve. Since all of the acreage had been used for field crops and pasture, she also decided that a good many trees should be planted to create an arboretum. In fact, for the first 10 years, all funds from the trust were to be used only to purchase trees so the arboretum would be established quickly.