 The Caroline Dormon Lodge opened in 1965, serving as a visitor center, library, and herbarium of native plants which grow within the boundaries of the arboretum.Dormon was the only woman member of the De Soto Commission established by Congress in 1935 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Hernando de Soto's expedition across the American Southeast, which crossed northern Louisiana.In 1965, she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Science award from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.