East-side arboretum to add history plaza, patio garden while planning for large future project

The Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum has a busy year of improvements ahead – while planning for a large new building project.

The 155-acre east-side arboretum is working through multiple upgrades identified in its 2020 master plan, including a major horticulture play and education facility.

The Adventure & Learning Conservatory would be “an additional year-round facility that would have a horticultural theme to it for indoor activities, and then a future phase would be an outdoor children’s garden,” said Mike Cooper, executive director of the arboretum and former city planning and parks director.

“We’re going through a concept of what it would look like and how much it would cost to build. … This would be something different than anything in the community or what’s currently being developed.”

More details about the plan are expected this summer.

In the meantime, the arboretum, which is at 1900 S. Perry Place on the north side of Highway 42, is preparing for a busy year of additional improvements.

The East Sioux Falls History Plaza will be built this year, an open-air structure replicating the original 1888 Illinois Central Railroad Depot that was located on the property.

“It will be a scaled-down version with historical exhibits and interactive play elements for kids and adults,” Cooper said.

The $350,000 project is being funded by the city of Sioux Falls and grants from Knife River Co. and the Mary Chilton DAR Foundation.

East Sioux Falls was a mining town that existed in the late 1880s as part of the quarry operation in the area.

It mostly was comprised of miners and their families, and “they had their own community of close to 600 during the peak,” Cooper said. “They had their own mayor and elected officials, a school, a town hall; they had commercial buildings, residences and a hotel. It went until the early 1910s when demand for stone declined, and the town dissolved in 1913.”

At its peak, East Sioux Falls shipped stone for building and road projects throughout the Midwest, including material used in downtown Sioux Falls buildings, Cooper said.

“Because East Sioux Falls is such a significant part of the arboretum, we wanted to use that as a way to interpret the history and educate people about how the town grew and evolved,” he said. “Right now, we have static displays out there, but you have to walk up and read a lot, and we wanted something more interactive.”

The contractor, 605 Companies, is starting construction soon with the goal of completing the project this year.

The arboretum hosted a record number of events last year — more than 55 — and so far this year is at 40 already.

Finishing the lower level of the Mabel and Judy Jasper Educational Center with event space and a kitchen has driven the interest, Cooper said.

“So to go along with that, another project is expanding our patio garden adjacent to the lower level, and that’s going to be completed this summer and will include a shade pergola, some raised garden beds, a water feature, some lighting and eventually another phase will be adding a fire pit,” he said.

While there’s portable seating, “the goal would be to make the patio available for more year-round use,” he said.

The project is funded by donations, as are many other improvements at the arboretum. A pergola will be added this year to the formal garden area frequently used for weddings.

“That will be over our rose garden, so it’s a backdrop, with quartzite-covered columns,” Cooper said.

The arboretum also is working on new perennial garden beds, a hydrangea collection and a hosta collection.

One of the garden projects will use stone blasted from the Cherapa Place expansion as a border.

Named for civic leader and community volunteer Mary Jo Wegner, the arboretum includes prairie meadows, woodlands and formal gardens, including more than 500 trees representing nearly 100 varieties of deciduous, evergreen and ornamental trees, along with more than 135 varieties of shrubs, ornamental grasses and perennials. There’s no charge for admission because it’s supported by the Arboretum Society.

A new agreement with the Minnehaha Master Gardeners will expand a teaching garden and offer the chance to do more education there. That’s also the goal of federal funding received through the city of Sioux Falls to bring more field trips to the arboretum.

“We’re focusing more on the fall when there’s more to see,” Cooper said.

In the meantime, the arboretum will host several summer camps and has weekly programming for all ages. To learn more, click here.