Peter Bohlender
Peter Bohlender (born February 1, 1838) was a Bavarian-born American gardener. He emigrated to Dayton, Ohio, from the Kingdom of Bavaria, with his family, at the age of 6.[1] Having no opportunity to attend school, he worked in a tobacco stripping house at a very young age. Before reaching his teens, he worked for a local nursery, where he received training in the gardening industry. In 1849, he started his own small nursery in North Dayton, Ohio, called Bohlender’s Nursery.[2]
In 1889, Bohlender moved his nursery to Tipp City, Ohio. Around the time of World War I, Bohlender renamed the nursery “Spring Hill Nurseries.” He derived the name “Spring Hill” from a small hill located near the current location of the nursery’s primary growing area.[2]
Spring Hill Nurseries was initially a wholesale garden store, providing plants and services to locals.[2] The rise in popularity of catalog mail-order prompted Bohlender to begin moving Spring Hill out of the wholesale gardening business and into mail-order. In 1930, Spring Hill became primarily a mail-order gardening company. The garden center retained a smaller retail store, which is still functioning today.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ 1909 History of Miami County, Ohio Archived 2003-09-20 at the Wayback Machine Miami County, Ohio, Genealogical Researchers.
- ^ a b c d Spring Hill Nurseries history Archived 2009-03-25 at the Wayback Machine. Spring Hill Nurseries.