The Jesse Hepler Lilac Arboretum was a botanical garden on the University of New Hampshire campus in Durham from 1940 to 1980, on the slope behind Thompson Hall known as Lilac Hill. Proposed in 1938 by Jesse R. Hepler, acting chairman of horticulture, it was dedicated two years later and became tied to the university’s horticultural research when many lilac species were moved there in 1948. At its peak, it held 100 lilac varieties in seven color classes, reflecting both campus landscaping and the state flower of New Hampshire. Cross-breeding eventually narrowed the collection’s genetic range, and the arboretum was dismantled in 1980.