The vouchers for John Torrey's Flora of the State of New York (1843) formed the nucleus of the Herbarium. Because of the cultural and economic importance of the Albany-Troy area in the 19th century, the herbarium attracted collections of other early botanists, including material from Lewis Caleb Beck, Chester Dewey, H. P. Sartwell, Edward Tuckerman, Asa Gray, P. D. Kneiskern, among others. The herbarium also received important type specimens from M. A. Curtis, L. S. Rose, I. W. Clokey, C. F. Austin, B. D. Gilbert, C. S. Sheldon, E. Brainerd, C. S. Sargent, E. P. Bicknell, and H. M. Denslow. Throughout its history, the herbarium grew considerably from collections made by state botanists, Charles H. Peck, Homer D. House, Eugene C. Ogden, and Richard M. Mitchell and curators, Stanley J. Smith and Charles J. Sheviak.