Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

Gastonia

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located on 380 acres of rolling meadows, woodlands and lakefront property in Belmont, North Carolina. Founded by Daniel J. Stowe, a retired textile executive from Belmont, it includes large manicured gardens, natural surrounding areas, including a woodland trail, sparkling fountains, and an Orchid Conservatory. The appealing garden site has a long history of use by its inhabitants. Originally, Native Americans of the Catawba and Cherokee tribes trapped, fished, hunted and raised families here. Later, the area served as home to early European settlers. In recent years, the garden’s meadowlands have been used as pasture for farm animals, although much of the site is covered by mature deciduous woodlands and pine forest. Although a relatively new facility, Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden has a very old historical connection. The French botanist André Michaux rode and walked across the garden property in 1795. Michaux found new plants in Gaston County not far from the current garden, including the Bigleaf Magnolia. Wikipedia