Robert Lee Forrest: The Farmer Who Became SERC’s Founding Father

In 1962, the Smithsonian received an unexpected bequest: $2.0 million in cash and realty, including 368 acres on Maryland’s Rhode River. It came from a colorful but enigmatic dairy farmer named Robert Lee Forrest. Like the Smithsonian’s first patron, James Smithson, Forrest was a life-long bachelor with no children. His gift of virtually his entire estate led to the creation of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in 1965. In a special talk honoring SERC’s 60th anniversary, discover how this eccentric farmer and scientist blazed new territory long before his gift to the Smithsonian, with SERC archaeologist Dr. Jim Gibb. 

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