The Campus
One of the first things to strike visitors is the natural beauty of the Haverford campus. The tree-lined approach along College Lane allows the campus to reveal itself slowly, with open vistas, gardens, wooded areas, and a 3.5 acre pond.
The Haverford campus is the oldest planned college landscape in the country. Our meticulously maintained 200 acres contain a nature trail, a Pinetum, flower gardens, and many scampering black squirrels—our unofficial mascots.
In 1834 English gardener William Carvill was hired to develop a landscape design for Haverford. His plan was influenced by the work of English landscape master Sir Humphrey Repton, and this design is still evident today in the campus landscape’s quiet beauty. There are more than 2,500 labeled trees on campus, among them the Penn Treaty Elm, a descendant of the American Elm under which William Penn signed his treaty with the Native Americans in 1682. Several of Carvill’s historic trees exist today, along with collections of oaks, beeches, and maples, and 19 state-champion trees. Behind the Magill Library, a courtyard garden includes as an architectural feature the Carvill Arch, from William Carvill’s original greenhouse. One of the best ways to experience the diversity of plantings and gardens is to walk the 2.25-mile Nature Trail that encircles the campus.
The 70 structures built since our founding demonstrate great architectural diversity while maintaining a simple elegance and openness. The most recent additions are the Marian E. Koshland Integrated Natural Science Center and the 100,000 square-foot Douglas B. Gardner '83 Integrated Athletic Center.