The Dallas Arboretum was founded upon the dreams of a few visionary Dallasites. Though the gardens themselves are comparatively young, the work that went into creating the current gardens began long ago:

• In the early 1930's, Everette DeGolyer chaired a committee to find a landsite for an    arboretum for Dallas. Sixty years later, the concept for a botanical preserve is a reality-on the very land he once owned.
  
• In 1974, the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Society (DABS) adopted bylaws, elected officers and incorporated as a nonprofit organization.
   
• In 1977, the City of Dallas Park Board recommended that the grounds of the DeGolyer estate, which the City had purchased from Southern Methodist University, be the official
  
• location of the botanical garden. The City encouraged DABS to raise funds for the initial costs.
  
• During 1978 and 1979, DABS membership increased and DABS obtained civic and business awareness for support of the arboretum project.
  
• By 1980, DABS had raised over one million dollars and purchased the 22-acre Camp Estate, which is adjacent to the DeGolyer Estate. Both estates are located on White Rock Lake.
  
• In 1982, the signing of a contract between the City of Dallas and DABS created an arboretum and botanical garden on the combined 66 acres of the DeGolyer and Camp properties. The gardens opened to the public for the first time in 1984