Wissahickon Garden Club
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Our History

Wissahickon Garden Club

Founded: 1932
Joined GCA: 1942
Number of Members: 94

In April of 1932 , six women, all of whom lived in homes bordering the Wissahickon section of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, joined together to keep Forbidden Drive, a road running through the Park, from being used by automobiles and to preserve it solely for recreation. This small but significant effort in maintaining the tranquility of Forbidden Drive created an insoluble bond among these women and led to the founding of the mighty Wissahickon Garden Club.
From these early beginnings 80 years ago, our Club has been instrumental in the conservation and preservation of Northwest Philadelphia and its surroundings.  Our Club’s civic projects have been many and varied including: the installation of the gardens at Awbury Arboretum (1940s); lobbying to keep the proposed Schuylkill Expressway and Pennsylvania Turnpike free of billboards (1950s); fundraising for the Pennsylvania School for Horticulture for Women (l950s); planting the Children’s Hospital grounds (1950s); planning and plantings for the Robin Hood Dell music amphitheater in Fairmount Park (1950s); historic reconstruction of the gardens at Hope Lodge (1960s); “Operation Dogwood” with the planting of more than 1,500 American Dogwood Trees in Chestnut Hill (1960s); assisting with the rebuilding of the Italian Fountain located next to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1960s); plantings at the Top of The Hill next to the Chestnut Hill Library (1970s); planning and planting of The Jenks School in Chestnut Hill (1980s-1990s); historic preservation at the Highlands, a Roosevelt home (1980s); woodland restoration of the Wissahickon Watershed (1990s to present); contributions to The Morris Arboretum (1990s to 2000s); restoration and replanting of The Spring House in Fairmount Park (2000s); the design and planting of the gardens at the entrance to The Mann Center in Fairmount Park (2000s); and the restoration of Concourse Lake (2010s).
With the examples set by our predecessors, our current energetic, talented and committed Wissahickon members are well positioned to roll up their sleeves and get to work to protect the environment, strengthen the community and beautify the world in which they live.   
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WISSAHICKON GARDEN CLUB
  • HOME
    • WGC HISTORY
  • WGC
    • CALENDAR
    • WGC PROGRAM BOOK
    • WGC News
    • MEMBER DIRECTORY 2022-2023
    • MINUTES 2021-2022
    • Member Spotlight
    • organizations+links
    • MANUAL & BYLAWS
    • BUDGET
    • DUES NOTICE & FORMS
  • SIGN UP!
  • COMMITTEES
    • CIVIC + CONSERVATION >
      • Civic Projects
      • conservation >
        • LINKS TO POLITICAL LEADERS
    • HORTICULTURE
    • Photography
  • remembrance
  • ARCHIVES
    • LOGO
    • WABI-SABI
    • MEETINGS 2021-2022 >
      • September 14, 2021
      • OCTOBER 13, 2021
      • November 9, 2021
      • January 11, 2022
      • FEBRUARY 8, 2022
    • 2020-2021 >
      • GARDEN VIEWS
      • WGC fall Horticulture Show 2020
      • Candidates for Membership
      • PROVISIONAL WORKSHOP 10/2020
      • SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
      • OCTOBER 13, 2020
      • November 10, 2020
      • December 1, 2020
      • JANUARY 12, 2021​
      • February 9, 2021
      • MARCH 9, 2021
      • April 13, 2021
      • May 6, 2021
      • June 1, 2021
    • 2019-2020
    • 2018-2019 >
      • WGC Program 2018-2019
    • MINUTES >
      • Minutes 2020-2021
      • Minutes 2019-2020
      • Minutes 2018-2019
      • 2017-2018 MINUTES
      • 2016-2017 Minutes
      • 2015-2016 MINUTES
      • 2014 - 2015 MINUTES
      • 2013 Minutes
      • 2012 Minutes
      • 2011 Minutes
    • WGC Program 2017-2018
    • 2016-2017 year in review
    • 2013-2011 PHOTOS
    • WGC PROGRAM BOOK 2015-2016