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PECAN TREES AT MOUNT VERNON MISCELLPNEOUSPUBLICPTIQN No. 295 U.S. DEPPRTmEnTOIc1GRICULTUPE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATION No. 295 Washington, D. C. June 1938 FAMOUS TREES By CHARLES E. RANDALLandD. PRISCILLA EDGERTON, Divi.siou of Information and Education, Forest service CONTENTS Page Trees associated with notable persons, evenu, Trees associated with notable persons, events, awl pincos____ 1 and placesContinued. Trees ss ciatod with notable people 2 Trees with peculiar aesthetic or senti- Tress associated with the building of the mental asoociasions 59 Nation 16 Trees associated directly with educators Heads of tree families 62 or educational iicatitutioac Trees notable for unusual size or age_ 66 Trees associated particuierly with writers Old or large tress in the United States__ 06 ant llterturo 47 Outstanding foreign rivals 101 Trees associated with religion 50 Freak trees 102 Trees thnt hava had special proletion.-- 55Literature cited 111 TREES ASSOCIATED WITH NOTABLE PERSONS, EVENTS, AND PLACES VERY land, every clime, has its trees, and in the lore of every age tree stories are found. In the United States there is abundant tree growth of the most use- I fiil species. The Nation has been qulte literally nurtured in a WOO(iefl cradle, and its progress has been largely clue to the contrIbutions of the forest. The j)iolleers cut paths through the wildernessfrom east to west and from north to southand the forest. harvest has gone into home and community biiildliuig. Oii all si(le4 there is abundant evidence that forests are essential to civilized man's welfare.The. hidividual tree, however, has an even more intimateai1 toIay in lIlililafl experience, a part so nmversal that every Country has its famous tree citizens. Trees by their very nature are landmarks and memorials. They are therefore identifiedwtli human happenings.Also, trees, having more than the allotted life span of man carry their associations through generations of men and women.rtii,tiey often figure not only in biography but also in history. Trees are lovea by all kinds of people. Therefore they are immor- talized by poets and artists, and their historical associationsare l)ei'petuated by churches and schools, by various orgamzat.ions and communities. Several hundred descriptions of, or incidents about trees, taken from reports coming to the Forest Service and from records and library 47782-38---1 1 2 MISC. PUBLICATION 295, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE references' are included in this publication.They are from almost every State in the Union and deal with many species.In a complete story of notable trees, however, there would be so many chapters that it is impossible to tell it all at once or for one person to do the telling.The compilation is necessarily incomplete, and many notable tree favorites may have been omitted. TREES ASSOCIATED WITH NOTABLE PEOPLE Since one almost invariable element of greatness seems to be a love of nature, trees are found entering into the interests of famous men and women.It is significant that tree stories are associated with many of our Presidents.The first tree lover of them all, Washing- ton, planted niany trees, and many other trees are living memorials to him. Living trees planted by Washington or under his direction at Mount Vernon mclude tuliptrees, buckeyes, elms, I)CCflIIS (see front cover), hollies, lindens, hemlocks, mulberries, and others.Trees d- rect.ly associated with Washington in at least a dozen Eastern States swell the number bearing his name toward the hundred mark. Next to the Washington Elm in Canihridge (now dead), under which the leader of the American Revolutionary forces assumed command in 1775, prol)al dy the, most notable Washington trees now living are: The Washington Ehu at Berkeley Springs. W. Va., associated with the surveying days of the young Washington while in the employ of Lor(l Fairfax.In 'Washington's journal of this survey, written in 1747, an entry indicates that he was greatly impressed by the medwi- nal value of certain springs near Berkeley, which, according to tm- clition, were exciting factors in Indian warfare.After the settle- ment by white pioneers, Washington planted an American elm at the intersection of the growing principal thoroughfare, Wash- ington Street. with another street marking the southern boundary of the grant of Lord Fairfax. The tree tociy is 21 feet in circumfer- ence at its base. The Washington Elm facing the east entrance to the Senate wing of the United States Capitol, under which the first President watched the building of that, structure (fig. 1). The Washington Elm Grandchild, a descenclaiitofthe Washington Elm at Cambridge, Mass., was planted as a Washington Bicentennial free on the grounds of the State capitol in Hartford, Conn., on March 31. 1933.It was accepted by the Governor of the State. and, having been given good care, is in excellent condition. A "grandchild" of the Cambridge, Mass., elm now growing on the front lawn of the American Tree Association office building, 1214 Sixteenth Street NW., Washington, D. C. Among the many descendants of the Washington (Cambridge) Elm are one at Arnold Arboretum, Janiaiea Plain, Mass., and "a pedi- greed scion" on the campusofthe University of Washington at Seattle. A sturdy sapling, propagated from a limb of the Seattle 'Acknowledgment is made to Beryl G. Gardner, assistant editor, and Melissa Speer, assistant librarian, Forest Service, for assistance with reference material, to donors of photographs used herein, and to others who have offered helpful criticisms in the compila- tion of this publication. FAMOUS THEES 3 offspring, was set out in the university's botanical gardens in April 1930 to replace the Cambridge ancestor when the park department of that city is ready to receive it. Cogswell Maple. New Preston, Litchfield, Conn.This is said to be the largest maple in Connecticut.The house which stands in its shade was once an inn where George Washington was entertained on one of his trips to Connecticut. F- 32 FIGURE 1.-WASHINGTON ELM, OPPOSITE THE EAST ENTRANCE TO THE SENATE WING, UNITED STATES CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D. C. The Great Elm, at Palmer, Mass., from the shade of which Wash- ington addressed his troops 3 days before he took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, July 3, 1775. %% tute oak. (iaylordsvilie, Conn., nuder whose shade tradition says George Washington hell council when on his way w Hartford in September 1780.This tree stands near the Shagticoke Trail.It is owned by the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution. who are caring for it.Incidentally, in 13 Connecticut 1). A. R.s 4 MISC. PUBLICATION 295, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE alone planted more than 6OOO trees at scattered points in the State in honor of the Father of his Country. Elm near Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge. Beneath this tree there is a marker which bears the following inscription: This elm, a scion of a tree planted by George Washington, was brought here and planted in December 1888 by the State Secretary of the Patriotic Order of Sons of America. WTashingtoii Ball Walnut, Maplewood, N. J.Historic walnut on Ridgewood Road, planted beside the Timothy Ball house at the time it was built, in 1743.Here Washington frequently visited his Ball relatives while headquartering at Morristown. On such visits, accord- ing to tradition, he tied his horse to an iron ring attached to this tree. This tree is also referred to by George W. Clark, a great grandson of Timothy Ball, as a tree of tremendous size and as a dividing line between the congregations of the Presbyterian Churches, one at Orange and the other at Springfield, N. J., those on the south attending one church and those on the north, the other. Washniglon Friendship Tree (horsechestnut) at Bath, Pa.This tree is said to be a memorial to the friendship existing between Gen. George Washington and Gen. Robert Brown in Revolutionary days. On one of General Brown's visits to Mount Vernon, when peace had come. Washington dug from his garden two young horse- chestnuts and presented them to his friencL who carried the sa)lmgs on horseback over the mountains into theIi ills of Pennsylvania, where they were planted at the home of General Brown at Bath. Only one of the trees is alive today (fig. 2). Washington Live Oak at Charleston, S. C. Washington visited Charleston in 1791, and here, so the story goes, was an honored breakfast guest in the beautiful t)IiIitation home of the distinguished Pinckney family. He heard the mistress of the household order her gardener to cut down the large oak which obstructed the view from the new portico.Washington, great tree lover that he was, expressed the wish that the tree be spared.It was. Other presidents were known for their interest in trees. John Quincy Adams was known as "the tree-planting Mr. Adams." Thomas Jefferson was a well-known tree lover and tree planter. There is a "President's grove" at Fremont, Ohio, the home of Ruther- ford B. Hayes, nineteenth President of the United States, many of the trees having been christened by former Presidents at times when they visited the park.There are many General Grant trees in the world, planted in his honor dnrnihis trip around the world. Theodore Roosevelt is perhaps bestnown as "the great conserva- because of his interest in wise use of the forests and other resources. Among well known trees of thPresidents arc: The John Quincy Adams Ehn (fig. 3), on the White House grounds near the east entrance, Washington, D. C., planted during the admin- istration of President JohnQ iiiney Adams. At Wheatland, near Lancaster, Pa.