Jones Arboretum and Sundial Presentation

Jones Arboretum and Sundial Presentation at Vernon County Museum

On Tuesday, October 4, 7PM, the Vernon County Historical Society will present a free program on the history of the Jones Arboretum and Sundial at the Vernon County Museum.

Local historian Veronica Kleiber will tell the story of Royce and Fran Jones and the arboretum and sundial that they built along Highway 14 between Readstown and Viroqua. Today the arboretum has become Second Nature at Reads Creek (formerly, Reads Creek Nursery).

Royce Jones was a very interesting person, a scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project in 1943-45 and then at several other laboratories over 30 years. He and Fran were living in Chicago when they bought a rural Readstown farm in 1969 for weekend retreats. They left city-life permanently and moved to the farm in Readstown in 1973, and in 1977 they established their arboretum on part of the farm.

The sundial, believed to be the largest armillary sundial in the world, was built by Royce and Fran and friends in 1990 at the arboretum. Fran died in 1994, and Royce in 2001. The sundial, which used to point true north, was pushed over by floodwaters in September 2016, and so far it has been a challenge to repair.

The free program will begin at 7PM in the conference room at the Vernon County Museum. Everyone is welcome to attend. The current owners of the plant nursery, David and Jennifer Tubbin, will talk about the property as well as share the next chapter of the story to repair this beautiful armillary sundial landmark with rich history in hopes the sundial can point to true north again.

Information on the October 4th program and more Vernon County History can be found at the VCHS website: https://www.vernoncountyhistory.org/