Founded on Henry Shaw’s St. Louis property and opened in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden grew from a public garden into one of North America’s leading botanical institutions. Still known as Shaw’s Garden, it includes a major herbarium, the Peter H. Raven Library, the pioneering Climatron greenhouse, and related sites such as the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House and Shaw Nature Reserve. Nationally recognized for its historic importance, it also supports research, conservation, education, and cultural programming. Its history includes the 1855 escape of four people enslaved by Shaw from Tower Grove House, a story publicly acknowledged in 2024.