Osage orange trees

The Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) is a tree native to areas of Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas, and introduced to the East by Meriweather Lewis who sent slips to Thomas Jefferson in 1804.  The row of trees lining the Ropewalk is believed to have been planted by the Boyce family around 1850, and added to in 1914 when the park was being developed.