22, Arnoldia 78/5-6 « October 2021 
Later, William Robert went on two extended 
botanical expeditions, to California (in 1849) 
and Mexico (in 1850). While these trips suggest 
that the business was doing reasonably well, 
William Robert began to gradually withdraw 
from the day-to-day management of the nurs- 
ery around 1855, at the age of sixty. Instead, he 
devoted his energy to other botanical interests, 
including research on botanical medicinal rem- 
edies. He also continued to breed and evaluate 
new varieties of fruits and ornamental plants, 
especially grapes, strawberries, and roses. His 
oldest son, William III, meanwhile assumed 
increasing responsibility for the enterprise. 
William Robert’s career reflected the changes 
that were going on in the American horticul- 
tural community. His father had been a found- 
ing member of the New York Horticultural 
Society in 1818 and joined the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society after it was established in 
1829, but he was also a member of the Linnaean 
Society of Paris, the Horticultural Society of 
London and Paris, and the Academy of Geor- 
gofili, based in Florence, Italy. William Rob- 
ert invested his energy into the increasingly 
sophisticated American horticultural societies 
rather than those in Europe. He contributed 
many articles to the leading American agricul- 
tural magazines of the day, such as The Rural 
New Yorker and Gardener’s Monthly. More- 
over, he was a member of the American Insti- 
tute of the City of New York and the American 
Pomological Society. 
On March 28, 1869, William Robert died at 
his home in Flushing, and as it turned out, the 
esteemed business died with him. William III 
had enlisted for the United States Army dur- 
ing the Civil War, and he chose to remain in 
the military. William Robert’s second son, 
LeBaron Bradford, pursued a career in law and 
politics. Gardener’s Monthly printed a two-page 
obituary for William Robert. It was a sad and 
respectful tribute to his horticultural brilliance 
while nonetheless remarking on his combat- 
ive personality. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society issued a full resolution 
commemorating his life as a “pioneer in the 
field of horticulture,” a title that seems equally 
appropriate for the three generations of Princes 
that came before him. 
—_ 
In 1939, efforts were made to move William 
Robert’s house to the site of the New York 
World’s Fair, to demonstrate a historic colo- 
nial homestead, but the campaign came to no 
avail. Later, New York City park commissioner 
Robert Moses rejected a proposal to move the 
structure to Flushing Meadow Park. Moses’s 
vision for a “modern city” had little space for 
old wooden buildings. In its last few years of 
use, the structure served as a rooming house 
and a club. The shabby, unpainted building was 
then boarded up and surrounded by billboards 
and a gas station. The house was torn down in 
1942. Of course, by that point, the lush green- 
houses that once welcomed winter visitors had 
long ago disappeared, and the nursery property 
had been subdivided and sold for development. 
Yet, the 150-year story of the Prince family 
lives on today. The family built a foundation for 
commercial horticulture in the United States. 
They championed the cultivation of plants 
from across the country and around the world, 
and their publications promoted best practices 
in horticulture. They even helped with estab- 
lishing a more systematic approach for horti- 
cultural nomenclature. Moreover, the success 
of the Prince nurseries is inextricably linked 
to the subsequent generation of horticulturists 
who established businesses in Flushing. This 
expanding group of nursery owners became 
leaders in their own right. In this way, a horti- 
cultural legacy that began with one family who 
lived on the edge of Flushing Creek became a 
national and international story. 
Acknowledgment 
I’m grateful for the support of Susan Lacerte, who recently 
retired as executive director at the Queens Botanical 
Garden, located near the former Prince Nurseries. Susan’s 
knowledge of horticulture in Flushing, both present and 
historical, has been an inspiration. 
References 
Cornett, P. 2004, January. Encounters with America’s 
premier nursery and botanic garden. Twinleaf: 
1-12. 
Downing, A.J. 1845. The fruits and fruit trees of America: 
Or the culture, propagation and management in 
the garden and orchard of fruit trees generally; 
with descriptions of all the finest varieties of 
fruit, native and foreign in this country. New 
York: Wiley and Putnam. 
