to assist with the future Fullerton Arboretum, in an attempt to gain official community support for the project. The Trustees of the California State University system approved the planning of the botanical garden at California State University, Fullerton and allotted 26 acres of land for the project. The same year, a group called the Friends of Fullerton Arboretum was created out of the Arboretum Society in order to begin development. The Friends organization became a tax-exempt, non-profit corporation that helped raise funds for the project and continues to exist to this day. An architectural firm was hired in 1976 to draw schematics for the arboretum. In October 1977, the contractors for the project were awarded $621,000 to begin construction. December 11, 1977, was the day the formal groundbreaking ceremony took place. The official opening ceremony occurred on October 21, 1979. In 2004, a visitors' center with classrooms, a pavilion, museum, and other modifications was created. Museums The Orange County Agricultural and Nikkei Heritage Museum is located on the grounds of the Fullerton Arboretum, and highlights the region's agricultural history, as well as the contributions of the local Japanese American community and other pioneering farmers. The museum is a collaboration between Fullerton Arboretum and California State University Fullerton. Heritage House is a historic house museum decorated as a doctor's home and office of the 1890s. It is one of the oldest surviving homes constructed in the original townsite of Fullerton. The Eastlake-style cottage was built by one of Fullerton's pioneer doctors, Dr. George Crook Clark, in 1894. The home was moved to the arboretum campus in 1972 to save it from demolition. It was originally located at the corner of Amerige and Harvard (Lemon) in the center of Fullerton. See also List of botanical gardens in the United States North American Plant Collections Consortium References External links Botanical gardens in California Arboreta in California Geography of Fullerton, California California State University, Fullerton Historic house museums in California University museums in California History museums in California Museums in Orange County, California Farm museums in California Agriculture museums in the United States Ethnic museums in California Parks in Orange County, California Museums of Japanese culture abroad in the United States