special collections - landscape designs - prairie school

Jens Jensen, eminent landscape designer of the early 20th century in the prairie style, has many papers and drawings in our special collections. His son-in-law and partner for many years, Marshall Johnson, established his own reputation as a mid-century landscape designer in the Chicago region. The Sterling Morton Library holds over 1,000 landscape designs by Johnson, and over 200 by Jensen. In addition, the Library holds Jensen's papers and over 10,000 photos of sites that he worked on, and papers relating to the Friends of the Native Landscape.
Ossian Cole Simonds preceded Jensen in developing a "prairie style" of landscape design; about 30 of his landscape drawings also reside in our collection.
These present a treasure trove of 20th century landscape designs. Some of these drawings are cataloged on the online catalog of the Morton Arboretum that is accessible at http://swan.sls.lib.il.us.