Krider Nurseries gained nationwide prominence when its gardens were displayed at the 1934 Chicago “A Century of Progress” World’s Fair, and after presenting an immaculately designed promotional garden there, parts of the exhibit were brought back to this 2.4 acre site, where gardens closely resembling the original design have been restored. Although the World’s Fair display cost approximately $10,000, it produced a 250,000-name mailing list of visitors, and using that list Krider Nurseries expanded into a worldwide mail-order business. Founded as a two acre farm in 1896 by Vernon H. Krider, the nursery had grown by 1926 into a 420 acre operation headquartered across the street from these gardens, and for decades it was the largest industry in Middlebury, employing over 100 people. Its offices, packing house, greenhouses, and salesroom were all built in 1923. In 1924 Clarence Wesdorp, a nurseryman born and educated in Boskoop, Holland, was hired as plant propagator and general superintendent, and under the direction of Vernon H. Krider, his son Kenneth Krider, and Clarence Wesdorp, the business became one of the most diversified nurseries in the country. On its 420 acres, one-half million evergreens, shrubs, and trees and over 100,000 hardy phlox were propagated annually, while 165,000 rose bushes were contract-grown each year for wholesale and retail sales. Among the offerings in the “Glories of the Garden” catalog was “Festival,” Krider’s patented thornless rose, the first of its kind in the nation and sold exclusively by Krider Nurseries.