A New Era Begins at the Bickelhaupt Arboretum
If you’ve ever wandered through Bickelhaupt Arboretum, you know the feeling: a moment of quiet awe, sunlight streaming through branches, a child squealing as they roll down a hill.
The Arboretum has long been a place where time slows and curiosity sparks. Soon, that sense of wonder will grow even deeper.
This spring, after more than two years of planning, design, and construction, EICC will unveil the most significant transformation in the Arboretum’s 70-year history.
“We’ve been entrusted with something extraordinary,” said Ann Eisenman, director of Clinton Community Colleges’ Paul B. Sharar Foundation. “This is about honoring the Bickelhaupt family’s vision while giving future generations even more reasons to fall in love with this place.”
Maintaining a living museum of more than 700 trees, shrubs, and collections of specialty plants is no small task. As needs grew, EICC began exploring how to sustain the Arboretum long-term.
In 2021, Shive-Hattery found it would be feasible to turn the 9,000-square-foot former homestead — including its large indoor pool room — into a revenue-generating education and event space.
A $4.5 million fundraising goal gained quick momentum thanks to donations from businesses, organizations, and individuals, along with grant support — pushing the total past $5 million. “It doesn’t matter if the gift was five dollars or a million,” Eisenman said. “Every single donor is now part of this Arboretum’s story.”
In August 2024, Studio 483, Clinton Engineering, and JT Construction kicked off the project. The transformation will be unveiled this spring and it starts with new, sustainable landscape features.
A $214,500 grant from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship supported the addition of permeable paver walkway and parking lot, and a bioretention cell that will manage stormwater, protect the watershed, and serve as a living educational display.
“It will be filled with native Iowa plantings. It’ll be beautiful, functional, and a lesson in water conservation,” Eisenman said.
Inside, the Arboretum’s taxidermy collection — more than 70 animals, including a bear, bobcat, and snowy owl — will be on display within a walk-through animal experience. Habitat scenes designed by McCullough Creative and immersive murals by local artist Gabi Torres, will transport visitors into Iowa’s native environments.
Just steps away, an entirely different kind of wonder will unfold. The Arboretum’s original kidney-shaped indoor pool will be the foundation for a blown-glass installation created by Joel and Logan Ryser of Hot Glass Inc., in Davenport.
Nearly 800-square-feet of illuminated glass will glow beneath a glass-tile floor. Eisenman said it will be an engineering and artistic marvel unlike anything else in the region. “When the lights hit the glass, it’ll be breathtaking,” she said. “This is pure artistry.”
And then … there’s the troll.
As part of an international installation series, Danish artist Thomas Dambo is creating one of his signature giant trolls for the Arboretum. The troll’s head will be crafted in Denmark from recycled materials and shipped to Clinton, where his team will assemble the body onsite using locally reclaimed wood.
Another troll will be installed at Clinton’s Sawmill Museum, creating a community-wide attraction. Dambo’s trolls draw global audiences: 69,000 out-of-town visitors in two months in one Wisconsin community alone.
“We’d be thrilled with even 10% of that,” Eisenman said with a laugh. “But truly, this is about joy, imagination, and exploration. It brings people together.”
As the project nears completion, a new associate director has joined the Arboretum team to build a schedule of classes, workshops, performances, and community events.
“He understands meaningful programming,” Eisenman said. “Yes, we need to generate revenue, but education remains at the heart of everything. That balance is what will make the Arboretum thrive.”
A public ribbon cutting was held in early May, coinciding with the installation of the trolls.
Eisenman admits this has been a big project. Timelines shift. Installations are intricate. Winter weather is never predictable. But gratitude outweighs every challenge.
“We have incredible partners, artists, engineers, and donors,” she said. “Every time I walk through the building and grounds, even in its dusty state, I think, ‘this is going to be more than we ever dreamed.’”
Visit eicc.edu/bickelhaupt to learn more about rentals, programming, and the upcoming ribbon cutting!
The Legacy Behind the Landscape
In the mid-1950s, Bob and Frances Bickelhaupt settled into their Clinton home on 15 acres of rolling land, then witnessed Dutch elm disease decimate the area’s trees.
Inspired to take action, Bob and Frances Bickelhaupt, with guidance from horticulturists across the country, built what has become a nationally recognized outdoor museum of woody plants.
In 1970, the couple opened the Arboretum to the public and welcomed visitors from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year.
In 2000, their daughter Francie Hill returned to Clinton to serve as Arboretum director. She expanded educational and signature programming, including “No Child Left Inside,” which invited every K – 3rd grade student in Clinton County to enjoy some hands-on learning in nature.
In 2014, after the Bickelhaupt couple had passed away, their family donated the Arboretum to the Paul B. Sharar Foundation and EICC.
Longtime Clinton Community College President Karen Vickers, PhD, worked closely with Hill and her daughter, Shawn Hill-Lamb, to finalize the gift, cementing a lasting legacy for the Bickelhaupt family and the community.
“Dr. Vickers, Francie, and Shawn were key voices in ensuring this extraordinary place would continue to flourish,” said Ann Eisenman, director of the Paul B. Sharar Foundation. “Their belief in EICC’s stewardship made everything that followed possible.”