Nature/Wisconsin History Allison “Each of us from birth to death is intimately connected with trees. On Every Root their beauty and longevity we hang our memories and beliefs, trusting an Anchor trees to be symbols of our achievements and the things we hold dear.” —from the Preface Wisconsin’s Famous and Historic Trees Ever A llison y Root an Anchor In Every Root an Anchor, writer and arborist R. Bruce Allison celebrates Wisconsin’s most significant, unusual, and historic trees. More than one hundred fascinating tales introduce us to trees in every corner of the state, some remarkable for their size or age, others for their intriguing histories. From magnificent elms to beloved pines, from hanging trees to surveyors’ witness trees, from Frank Lloyd Wright’s oaks to Ben Logan’s maple, these trees are woven into our social and emotional history, contributing indelibly to our sense of place. They are anchors for time-honored family and community customs, manifestations of our ideals, and reminders of our lives’ most significant events. For this updated edition, Allison revisits the trees’ histories and tells us which of these unique landmarks are still standing. He sets forth an environmental message as well, reminding us to recognize our undeniable connectedness to trees and to manage our tree resources wisely. As early Wisconsin conservationist Increase Lapham said, tree histories increase our love of home and improve our hearts. They deserve to be told and remembered. WHS R. Bruce Allison 816 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 Foreword by Paul DeLong, Wisconsin Chief State Forester www.wisconsinhistory.org/publications Cover design by Lisa Wilber 6 5 5 6 0 7 C ( I H W , y t e i c o S l a c i r o t s i H n i s n o c s i W 7 3 8 1 . c , k a O r u B ck Pe When a man plants a tree he plants himself. Every root is an anchor, over which he rests with grateful interest, and becomes suffi ciently calm to feel the joy of living. He necessarily makes the acquaintance of the sun and sky. Favorite trees fi ll his mind, and, while tending them like children, and accepting the benefi ts they bring, he becomes himself a benefactor. —John Muir, Steep Trails Every Root an Anchor Wisconsin’s Famous and Historic Trees Second Edition R. Bruce Allison Foreword by Paul DeLong, Wisconsin Chief State Forester Wisconsin Historical Society Press Published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press © 2005 by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin First edition (Wisconsin’s Famous and Historic Trees) © 1982 by R. Bruce Allison All rights reserved. First edition 1982. Second edition 2005. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner or in any medium without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in critical articles and reviews. To request permission to reprint passages or quote from this copyrighted work, write to Permissions, Wisconsin Histori- cal Society Press, 816 State Street, Madison, WI 53706-1482. Publications of the Wisconsin Historical Society Press are available at quantity discounts for promotions, fund raising, and educational use. Write to the above address for more information. Photographs identifi ed with PH, WHi, or WHS are from the Society’s collections; address inquiries about such photos to the Visual Materials Archivist at the above address. Front cover image: Taliesin Elm by B-Wolfgang Hoffmann Support for text design and assistance with editing was provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry. An electronic version is available on dnr.wi.gov under forestry. Back cover images: Kohler Boxelder and Mrs. Walter Kohler, Sr. (courtesy Julilly Kohler Hausman); Muir Lo- cust (UW–Extension); Twin Lakes Trail Marker Tree Printed in the United States of America Text design by Jeanne Gomoll, Union Street Design, LLC Cover design by Lisa Wilber 09 08 07 06 05 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available ∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. Dedicated to the memory of Walter E. Scott and Robert E. Gard, two Wisconsin men-of-letters with the character of oak who chose to spend their lives planting good deeds for the benefi t of those to follow. The Oak Live thy Life, Young and old, Like yon oak, Bright in spring, Living gold; Summer-rich Then; and then Autumn-changed, Soberer-hued Gold again. All his leaves Fall’n at length, Look, he stands, Trunk and bough, Naked strength. —Alfred Tennyson He who plants an oak looks forward to future ages, and plants for posterity. Nothing can be less selfi sh than this. He cannot expect to sit in its shade, or enjoy its shelter; but he exults in the idea that the acorn which he has buried in the earth shall grow up into a lofty pile, and shall keep on fl ourishing, and increasing, and benefi ting mankind, long after he shall have ceased to tread his paternal fi elds. — Washington Irving, Forest Trees Contents Foreword .................................................................................ix The Randall Wilcox Buckeye, DePere ..................................31 Preface .....................................................................................xi The Delavan Founder’s Oak ..................................................32 The Lone Tree Prairie Oak, St. Croix County ..................... 32 Chapter I: Wisconsin’s Magnifi cent Elms ........................... 1 Ripon’s Signal Oak ................................................................. 33 Remembered Elms ...................................................................2 The Pleasant Company Oak, Middleton ............................. 34 Sawyer County Elms, Gotham Elm, Ripon Elm, UW–Madison Elms, Capitol Park Elms, Lake Mills Elm, Neillsville Elm, Mount Mary College Elms, Chapter III: Hanging Trees .................................................. 35 Wellers Elm, Taliesin Elm, General Grant Giant Elm Durand Lynch Tree, Pepin County ..................................... 36 The Stelter Elm, Marquette County .......................................5 The Parade Day Hanging Tree, La Crosse ...........................37 The Fort Howard Elm, Green Bay .......................................... 5 The Accidental Hanging Tree, Trempealeau County .........37 The Neenah Treaty Elm ...........................................................6 The Souvenir Hanging Tree, Vernon County ......................38 The Grignon Elms, Kaukauna .................................................7 The Janesville Hanging Tree .................................................38 Indian Agency House and Portage Elms ...............................8 Milwaukee’s Menomonee River Parkway Elm ......................8 Chapter IV: Homeplace Trees ............................................. 39 The Tuesday Club’s Slippery Elm, River Falls ....................10 The Jones Maples, Fort Atkinson ........................................ 40 The Rockton Grove ................................................................10 The Magnus Swenson Trees, Madison ................................41 Disease Resistant Elms ......................................................... 11 The Lodi Oak ..........................................................................42 The Poet’s Larch, Iowa County ............................................ 42 Chapter II: Historic Trees .................................................... 13 Meier’s Oak, Price County .................................................... 44 The Frank Lloyd Wright Tea Circle Oaks, Spring Green ....14 The Rufus Dodge Maples, Fort Atkinson ............................ 44 The Dunbar Oak, Waukesha ................................................. 16 The Grant County Sycamore ................................................46 Trading Post Oak, Lake Mendota .........................................17 The Damuth Civil War Maples, Jefferson County .............. 46 The Peck Bur Oak, Madison ................................................. 18 The Rhodes Bald Cypress, Kenosha County ......................47 The Plough Inn Maple, Madison .......................................... 19 The Walking Staff Tree, Sauk County ...................................47 The Spring Tavern/Hotel Walnut, Madison ........................20 The Kohler Boxelder ............................................................. 48 The La Follette Hickory, Madison ........................................22 The Hoard Museum Pine, Fort Atkinson .............................48 The Coffi n Tree, Rusk County .............................................. 23 Trees That Stood in the Way ................................................50 The Knut Juve Trees, Dane County ..................................... 24 Boscobel’s Dean Oak .............................................................24 Chapter V: Indian Trees ...................................................... 51 The Cooksville Scots Pine .....................................................25 The Indian Half-Way Tree, Green County ............................52 The Military Road Sycamore, Fond du Lac ........................ 26 The Cameron Council Oak, Oshkosh .................................. 53 Fort Atkinson’s Crooked Oak ............................................... 26 The Indian Game Trees, Winnebago County ......................53 The Sherwood Beech ............................................................ 26 Blackhawk