The Importance of Witness Trees in History
I spent much of my childhood playing in, under, and around a huge black walnut tree in my grandparent’s back yard. I’m not sure how old the tree is, but it was already an established giant in the 1950s when my grandparents moved in. This childhood military base, tree fort, and refuge from the southern summer sun gave me an appreciation for how magnificent a big tree can be. I remember fondly the time of year the walnuts fell, were gathered, and turned into baking ingredients by family. The cakes were wonderful, and the falling walnuts made play time…. interesting.
Big trees, like all old things, still fascinate me. So, when I see an old tree, I always take a few minutes to admire it; to appreciate the shade, shelter, and life it provides; the winters and springs is has seen; the children, both human and squirrel, that have played in its limbs.
As a historian, I was very pleased to learn of a category of tree called the ‘Witness Tree.’ It is exactly what it sounds like: a tree old enough, and lucky enough, to have been present at something historically important. These trees are few and far between since the development of America, particularly on the heavily populated east coast, caused the devastation of forests. Conservation wasn’t going to get in the way of progress, and even if it did, the idea of a ‘Witness Tree’ probably wasn’t something that forward thinking conservationists were thinking of 200 years ago.
In 2000, the National Park Service established the Historic American Landscapes Survey, or HALS, to capture the impact of humans and development on historic landscapes ranging from gardens to battlefields. In 2006, HALS formally established the Witness Tree Protection Program with a focus on the ‘silent sentinels,’ as the Park Service calls them.
In the US, there are several of witness trees of various importance that one can visit. Some notable ones are located on national battlefields, the national mall, or other historically preserved areas.
George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate was home to a tree, believed to have been planted in the late 1780s, that had witnessed much of the General’s life. It also bore witness to the American Civil war, and was gifted carvings from various Union units. It was lost in a November 2019 storm.
The Burnside Sycamore stands near what is known as ‘Burnside Bridge’ on the Antietam Civil War Battlefield. The tree witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. It was captured in a photograph shortly after the battle, then nothing more than a sapling.
The Manassas White Oak tree on the Manassas Battlefield witnessed both battles fought there. It stands near Stone Bridge and can be seen in an 1862 photograph.
The Oklahoma City Survivor is an American Elm in downtown Oklahoma City that was damaged by the explosion that destroyed the Murrah Federal Building in 1995. Survivors and family members of the deceased rallied to save the tree. It is now a center piece for the memorial.
Several of the oldest documented trees are at Vally Forge, the site of Washington’s army’s winter camp. The most well-known are the Lafayette Sycamore, the Maxwell Sycamore, and the Pawling Sycamore. When the Lafayette Sycamore fell in a 2012 storm, it was dated as more than 300 years old, making it older than the founding of its home state of Pennsylvania.
That old walnut still stands in my grandparent’s back yard. I remain fascinated with it and always walk out to it and reach up for that lowest limb. My old tree never saw anything that amazing – not to my knowledge anyway. Mostly, it just saw kids being kids: playing with army men, dogs, and throwing fallen walnuts at any unfortunate chickens who wandered too close.
Then again, maybe it witnessed the most important thing: Life. Simple, childish, carefree, American life.
