Oakwell tells the story of the land we now call Lower Merion: originally untouched during the Woodland period; developed as farmland during colonial times, bought to create a gentleman's farm and country home in the Gilded Age; planted to provide food for the community during World War I; developed as an arboretum that introduced trees from all over the world as was the style; and today, allowed to flourish as parkland with towering native trees, hundreds of years old, shading the property and providing homes for wildlife.
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Oakwell tells the story of the people
of our community and, really, the story of our nation:
the Lenape who were pushed out of the Delaware River basin; the settlers who originally ploughed the land for homesteads; young men who grew up here and then served in the Revolutionary Army, the Civil War and World War I; those who came to work on this property after immigrating to this country by choice or being forced onto slave ships; those who were recruited as or later became experts in horticulture and architectural design; young women who strived for meaningful careers; and those who profited during the Industrial Age and then used this land for the greater good.