Callaway Gardens

Cason Callaway first encountered a rare plumleaf azalea on depleted Harris County cotton land in 1930 — worn out after nearly a century of cultivation — and decided the place deserved better. What became Callaway Gardens opened in 1952 on 13,000 acres; streams were dammed into 13 lakes, eroded gullies filled, soil restored through replanting. Virginia Callaway worked with landscape architect Gilmore David Clarke to establish more than 20,000 trees, shrubs, and native flowers. The gardens now cover 2,500 acres, managed by Herschend Family Entertainment since 2022.