An article in The Times of Apalachicola, Fla., profiles Dr. Alvan W. Chapman, an 1830 Amherst College graduate who “brought the study of botany out of New England to the expanding United States, especially to the then Territory of Florida.” Chapman’s former home and the Chapman Botanical Gardens are esteemed sites in Apalachicola today.
The article, written by Caty Greene, president of the Apalachicola Area Historical Society, surveys some of the writings about Chapman, which in turn shed light on his physical appearance, his personal and professional relationships, his involvement with the local community and his botanical fieldwork, which continued into his 80s. His popular book Flora of the Southern United States was first published in 1860, with further editions released decades later.
The piece additionally describes how Chapman, who was originally from Southampton, Mass., and was also a physician, worked to inform and support the Union forces during the Civil War.