Carleton publishes book celebrating 100th anniversary of Cowling Arboretum

Carleton College will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its Cowling Arboretum during the 2026–27 academic year with a year-long celebration including activities in, around, and about the Arb. In anticipation of this milestone, the College has published a book, Into the Arb: A History of the Cowling Arboretum at Carleton College, co-authored by Ingrid Case ’90 and Nat Case ’88, with contributions from Indigenous community partner Franky Jackson.

Marking the Arb’s centennial, this book explores how that century saw the life of this land intersect with a changing college, a changing Minnesota, and a changing world. It traces a line from millennia of Dakota stewardship, through the beginnings of Northfield, Carleton, and the Arboretum, to today’s focus on restoration ecology. More than 250 maps, photographs, and illustrations show the evolution of the Arboretum and the ongoing ideas about it.

“Just in time for celebrations of the centennial, the authors of Into the Arb have made an impressive contribution to the essential Carleton bookshelf with a splendid history that is well researched, well written, beautifully illustrated, and chock-full of fascinating information and ‘honest storytelling’ about a special place, the myriad uses to which its land has been put, and the stewardship of that land across time,” said Eric Hillemann, librarian and senior associate in the Carleton College Archives.

Nancy Braker ’81, Puzak Family Director of the Cowling Arboretum and senior lecturer in biology, now has plenty of interesting facts to share that have come out of the research for this book.

For example: the Arb was proposed by botany professor Harvey Stork and established by President Donald Cowling, but it was not actually the first Carleton College Arboretum! In the book, you can learn about the arboretum that was begun (and abandoned) in the 1890s.

“We also have basically no official documentation of the Arboretum being named for Carleton President Donald Cowling,” Braker said, “just the word of his biographer, who cites a since-lost letter. It only became usual to refer to it that way in the 1980s.”

D. Blake “Stewsie” Stewart is another name often associated with the Arb; he was superintendent of grounds when the Arb was founded and now has one of the Lyman Lakes islands named for him. He claimed to have planted more than a quarter million trees by the time he left Carleton for good at around 90 years old.

Pre-order anytime now through May 9 from Northfield’s Content Bookstore to reserve your large-format, full-color copy of the limited first-edition printing of Into the Arb. The book will be available starting June 17, in time to be distributed at Carleton’s 2026 Reunion, where the authors will give a public talk and host a book signing. Following the first print run, Content will carry the book and order additional copies for readers.

Why publish this book now?

To celebrate the centennial, but also document the Arb’s history, which has never been done to this extent. The Arb team especially wanted to gather information from the people who know Carleton’s “middle” history (1960–1990) and celebrate their contributions.

Who should read this?

Anyone who loves the Arb! That might be alumni, current or retired staff and faculty, local or regional community members who use the Arb, people interested in plants and conservation, or anyone interested in Minnesota history (Carleton’s Arboretum was the first to be established in Minnesota).

About the Authors

Ingrid Case ’90 is a writer and editor. Nat Case ’88 is a cartographer, designer, and researcher who has been mapping and interpreting the Arb since 1994. Together they are INCase, LLC, and live in Minneapolis.

Franky Jackson (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate) is a cultural resource specialist and tribal historian. He is the compliance officer for the Prairie Island Indian Community’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office.

Research and writing of the book was supported in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

Erica Helgerud ’20 is the news and social media manager for Carleton College.