Cox Arboretum and Gardens MetroPark in Dayton, Ohio, grew from farmland bought by James M. Cox Jr. in the early 1950s as a family retreat called Spring Running into a public botanical garden and park. In the 1960s, Jean Mahoney helped stop housing development plans and guided preservation of the land as an arboretum, later serving as the first director of the nonprofit foundation that received the property. Transferred in 1972 to the Montgomery County Park District, it developed into a 189-acre garden complex with extensive plant collections, themed gardens, walking trails, and features for visitors, while also supporting horticultural education and research.