The arboretum was established in 1881 on the occasion of the Congress of the Pomeranian Forest Society at a time when foresters of the second half of the nineteenth century formed the economic foundations of the functioning of the forest farm. At that time, attempts were made to introduce into forestry experiment and then into forestry practice, species of foreign origin whose growth parameters and achieved final quantities gave hope for intensification of wood production per unit area.
The Karnieszewic Arboretum was founded to research the acclimatization, development and production capacity of foreign species. Particularly high hopes were then associated with Douglas fir discovered in North America by the Scottish botanist David Douglas, who in 1827 brought it and popularized it in English parks. Douglas fir in its homeland grows up to 100 m in height, is characterized by rapid growth and hence was the object of great interest of German foresters. In addition to Douglas fir, a number of other species were planted in the arboretum for research, such as: Canadian Christmas tree, Arborvitae, pea cypress, Lawsonia cypress, Caucasian fir, mud oak, red oak, and species whose purpose was rather aesthetic and decorative considerations, such as: chestnut, beech, American tulip tree, five-leaf peanut and many others.
Today it is an excellent educational facility. In addition to many species of plants such as Żywotnik Olbrzymi, Caucasian Fir or Canadian Christmas Tree is equipped with an educational shelter, a bonfire place and numerous places to rest.