The Mont Alto Arboretum is an arboretum

Arboretum

An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...

 located on the Mont Alto

Penn State Mont Alto

Penn State Mont Alto is a Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth Campus. It is located in Mont Alto, PA, in south central Pennsylvania, between Chambersburg and Gettysburg...

 campus of the Pennsylvania State University

Pennsylvania State University

The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...

.

The arboretum was established on Arbor Day

Arbor Day

Arbor Day is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. It originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska, United States during 1872 by J. Sterling Morton. The first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872, and an estimated 1 million trees were planted that day.Many...

 in 1905, just two years after the founding of the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy in Mont Alto. According to the college, on that day students searched for native tree species not present on campus, and brought back more than 400 specimens (30 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

). These original plantings were then augmented by seeds from other trees native to the United States.