The Crosby Arboretum

General information

The Arboretum was established as a living memorial to L.O. Crosby, Jr. (1907-1978) and has expanded to become a resource for education in the region and the world. Today, it provides for the protection of the region's biological diversity as well as a place for the public's enjoyment of plant species native to the Pearl River Drainage Basin of south-central Mississippi and Louisiana. It allows us to study and learn about plants and plant products so that we may use them to their best advantage and ensure their continuous propagation in the future. Aesthetic, agricultural, scientific, and industrial contributions of native plant species and ecosystems can be examined in a real-life setting at the Arboretum.

As a living memorial to L.O. Crosby, Jr., a man whose vision it was to preserve Mississippi's natural environment, the Arboretum teaches the wonders of nature not from the pages of a book, but through touching, feeling, experiencing and demonstration. It was the family's dream to use the Gulf region as an outdoor classroom and make use of this unique setting to help others come to know and understand that the choices made today about our surroundings determine the future for those who follow.