There are so many ways that the SEED (Science, Employee Education and Development) Campus tells Davey’s 145-year story:
- The restored timbers that shape the barn/events space date back to 1890 – around the time of our founding.
- The innovative training and education spaces encapsulate a modern-day representation of our founder John Davey’s commitment to building a well-trained workforce.
- Research plots and state-of-the-art laboratories reflect our century-and-a-half commitment to providing science-based solutions.
And perhaps most tangibly, an archival storage and processing space provides a home to historical Davey artifacts. Visitors can view select pieces through a glass wall into the archival storage, and behind what they see, there are hundreds of treasures from our rich history.
Let’s look at some of the highlights:
Oil Paintings
In the early-to-mid-1900s, oil paintings of client estates were commissioned for Davey magazine advertisements. Frank Swift Chase, an American landscape painter, made 28 oil paintings for Davey, several of which hang in the display window that can be seen from the SEED Campus hallway.
Equipment
The unique nature of Davey’s business operations, coupled with its history spanning nearly a century-and-a-half, have resulted in an interesting array of equipment that’s been collected and stored, including:
- five antique power chainsaws
- a two-man chainsaw that likely weighs more than 100 pounds
- a saw-sharpening stand
- ladders stamped with Davey’s name and logo that date back to the early 1900s and were used for tree work
Furniture and More
A restored antique office chair from the mid-1920s was used by Martin L. Davey, Sr., both as president of Davey and as governor of Ohio. Some other notable items include branded golf bags signed by PGA and LPGA tour members, climbing harnesses, historic markers, company service awards, training films, a lantern slide projector (said to be used by John Davey himself), and more.
Room to Grow
The Davey archives at the SEED campus have three rooms: a receiving room, a processing room, and the archival storage room, which consists of a high-density, modular storage shelving system, heavy duty racking, and a flat-file storage system. We are hopeful that the space will provide plenty of room to grow into, by allowing us to accept and incorporate artifacts into our collection for years to come.
Have an item you think might be archive-worthy? Reach out to matt.fredmonsky@davey.com.
