Allen County, Indiana Genealogy

Trees

Street trees affect the look and character of neighborhoods. Allen County was once a virgin primeval forest, trees were cut down for wood products, farmland and cities, then replanted with often different non-native species of trees as more homes and businesses were built. See our Timelines page for more information about historical events.

Street Trees page at City of Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation.

We are improving reliability - one tree at a time. We love trees. We just hate power outages. Trees and brush are the...

Posted by Indiana Michigan Power on Wednesday, February 28, 2024

February 28, 2024 post by Indiana Michigan Power on Facebook:

We are improving reliability - one tree at a time. We love trees. We just hate power outages. Trees and brush are the No. 1 cause of power outages. We have a proactive plan to prevent tree outages, and it’s already paying off for our customers.

Learn all about it: Caring For Our Community Working together for a brighter future

Indiana Michigan Power has a tree triming program to prevent trees falling during storms that interrupt power on their Power Reliability & Forestry We love trees. We just hate power outages page.

Jump to: Amercian Ash trees, American Chestnut tree, American Elm tree, Ancient Trees, Dendrochronology, Hardwoods, Pawpaw trees, Tree Canopy, Tree Rings

See other page sections on Centennial Oak Tree, Log Cabins, Old Apple Tree, and Johnny Appleseed Trees.

Notice the little man standing on the left side of the giant sycamore tree in the book Trees of Indiana by  Deam, Charles Clemon, 1865-1953 with several edtions from 1911 through 1921, several are found on the Archive.org. The 1921 edition has the photo of the huge sycamore tree shown above with the caption:
SYCAMORE NEAR WORTHINGTON, IND., THE LARGEST BROAD-LEAVED TREE IN THE U. S. FIVE FEET ABOVE THE GROUND IT IS 42 FT. 3 IN. IN CIRC. ; THE EAST BRANCH IS 27 FT. 3 IN. IN CIRC. AND THE WEST BRANCH IS 23 FT. 2 IN. IN CIRC. SEE JOUR. HEREDITY, VOL. 6:407:1915.

April 27, 2016 post by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources on Facebook shows the same photo as above stating:

The largest tree in Indiana in the early days of statehood, and still today, is American Sycamore. The largest one appears to be a tree that occurred along the Ohio River in Harrison County. It was 20 feet in diameter! This one in the picture is just a mere 13 feet! The largest known today is 8 feet in diameter. A comment to the post added a link to the Indiana Big Tree Register at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Another August 30, 2016 post, with comments about his herbarium collection location, stated:

CHARLES DEAM, Indiana's first state forester, was born on this day in 1865 near Bluffton, Indiana. Recognized as one of the foremost botanists in the country, Deam traveled throughout all of Indiana's 1,016 townships collecting more than 78,000 plant specimens. He discovered 25 new plant species and has at least 48 plants, one state recreation area (Deam Lake SRA) and a U.S wilderness area (Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area) named in his honor. You can learn more about Charles Deam at http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/files/deam.pdf.

Deam Lake SRA: http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/4825.htm

1. Indiana University Herbarium at the The College of Arts & Sciences Department of Biology Indiana University Bloomington.
2. Indiana University Herbarium completes massive plant digitization project The digitization of more than 160,000 plant specimens will provide access to data to researchers across the globe, April 11, 2019, at IU News.

December 26, 2015 post by Friends of the Limberlost on Facebook:

This is Gene Stratton-Porter's photograph of the Sycamore Tree that was made into a smoker by an early pioneer of Geneva. When the tree was dying, Gene moved the base of the tree to the south side of the cabin. Thus saving an early piece of Geneva history.

August 30, 2021 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

On August 30, 1865, botanist Charles Deam was born in Wells County. He had his first brush with the curative powers of plants early in his life when he survived typhoid fever after drinking an old pioneer remedy made of boiled milk and an herb called Old-Field Balsam.

Deam eventually became Indiana's first state botanist and author of several books about flora and fauna, like Shrubs of Indiana (1924) and Flora of Indiana (1940).

Learn more about Deam with the Indiana History Blog: Charles C. Deam: From Typhoid Survivor to the Great Hoosier Botanist

The image below is courtesy of Indiana University’s Lilly Library.

 

Shrubs of Indiana (1924) at Indiana University Digital Library and Flora of Indiana (1940) 1256 page version and 1244 page version on Archive.org.

Flora of Indiana by Charles C. Deam described on Amazon.com as Published in 1940, with reprintings in 1970 and 1984, the Flora has served as the standard by which other state floras must be compared. Now over 60 years old, it has clearly withstood the test of time, and continues to be a primary source of information for any serious student of field botany.

Charlie Deam wrote several books about the trees and plants originally found in Indiana at the time of the arrival of European settlers and also talks about living in early Indiana. His biography Plain Ol' Charlie Deam: Pioneer Hoosier Botanist on page 2 describes his parents arrival in 1837 by wagon from Montgomery County, Ohio into the Wabash Valley of Indiana describing their early life as pioneers in 19th century Indiana. The Book Description on Purdue University Press states: Although a self-taught botanist, Charlie Deam (1865-1953) once served as state forester for Indiana and is revered as a pioneer in the field of botany. He traveled more than 100,000 miles throughout the state in his lifetime collecting 73,000 plant specimens. His four volumes about the flora, grasses, shrubs, and trees of Indiana resulted, among other things, in three honorary degrees. Deam's herbarium and 3,000-volume botanical library are now housed at Indiana University. See his books available on Internet Archive.

How many of our ancestors saw and helped remove monster trees like the one above? The landscape that became Indiana once was one large natural area with its present boundary unrecognized, uncharted. Within the bounds of present-day Indiana, and stretching from the Ohio River to Lake Michigan, and from the Whitewater River to the Wabash lay more than 36,000 square miles of the finest forests and prairies, swamps and marshes, barrens and savannas, glades and cliffsides, bogs and fens, seeps and springs, and lakes and streams to be found anywhere in the heartland of North America. This paragraph is copied from an essay called Perspective: The Indiana that Was by Marion T. Jackson published in the book The Natural Heritage of Indiana, copyright 1997, Indiana University Press and printed on the website The Inspiration for the Natural Heritage of Indiana Project. The essay describes how early pioneers were able to remove those giant trees in just a few decades. See our section on Trees.

They Lived in Hollow Trees! (Appalachian Settlers and the American Sycamore) by American Mythology posted Jan 15, 2017 on YouTube.
Early Appalachian settlers sometimes lived in hollow sycamore trees. Do sycamores that size still exist today? The answer might surprise you.

February 1, 2024 post by Arbor Day Foundation on Facebook:

You've heard it said. But do tree rings actually tell us the true age of a tree?

The answer is ... yes! Trees can provide us with a wealth of information about their past and the world around them. They've experienced significant environmental changes, climate shifts, and historical events. Since trees are sensitive to temperature, moisture, and sunlight, their growth reacts to these factors.

Wider tree rings could signify a warm, wet year, while finer tree rings may indicate a cold, dry season. These patterns provide the basis for determining their true age - known as tree-ring dating.

Dendrochronology

What is dendrochronology Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating has been available as a recognized scientific technique since the early 1900s. Simply stated, trees in temperate zones (and some in tropical zones) grow one visible ring per calendrical year. Read more at the Cornell Tree-Ring Laboratory The Laboratory for Aegean and Near Eastern Dendrochronology Cornell University.

Dendrochronology is a lengthy page describing Dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, the science that assigns accurate calendar dates to the yearly growth rings produced by trees (Nash 2000) at the National Park Service.

January 19, 2024 post by the Oklahoma Forestry Services on Facebook:

Today is #GoodMemoryDay! Originally designed to take a moment to cherish the good memories of the past. But did you know that trees have excellent memories? Trees record events and conditions in their annual rings. The profession that studies the data stored in these rings is known as #Dendrochronology. Scientists can learn about historical climate swings, weather events, and even when a wildfire came through and the direction it was traveling! This Douglas fir that fell in a New Mexico windstorm in 2013 has seen 410 years of history. It was already old when George Washington took control of the American army beneath the Washington elm!

September 16, 2021 post by Colonial Williamsburg on Facebook:

Williamsburg’s Bray School was established in 1760 for the education of free and enslaved Black children. Then dendrochronology led to the discovery of the building where those lessons took place. It was the culmination of years of work by Colonial Williamsburg and William & Mary – and both are committed to making the most of the discovery.

Learn more in the most recent issue of Trend & Tradition: ‘This was the Bray School’ Discovering the 18th-century school for Black children and the meaning of the education provided there

Past Event

June 20, 2022 post by the Indiana Barn Foundation on Facebook:

You don’t want to miss the talk during the IBF Forum and Annual Meeting by Dr. Darrin Rubino on the dating of buildings, particularly barns, using tree ring data. It is fascinating! Register today for this year's meeting on July 16th in Martinsville/Morgan County.

Need more info?

Tree rings, the annual increments of wood that are deposited around the circumference of a tree, offer a unique opportunity to study historic growth patterns in trees and forests. Dendrochronology is the science of assigning accurate calendar dates to individual tree rings so that growth can be analyzed over extended time periods. Dendroarchaeology, a subfield of dendrochronology, is the study of the tree-ring patterns found in the timbers of historically erected structures (and other wooden objects) to determine when they were constructed. This talk will focus on how tree rings are used to date historic buildings and will highlight how tree-ring analysis is used to better understand historic architecture, forest use, and regional history throughout the Mid-Ohio River Valley. Along with his student researchers and colleagues, Darrin has been able to date timbers from over 200 buildings (including barns, churches, houses, mills, and buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places) and to create a vast database of accurately measured and dated tree rings that reaches back to the mid-15th century.

Following lunch we'll watch Darrin taking samples from the barns at the 1847 Cedar Lane Farm. Learn how you too may have your barn sampled and dated!

March 29, 2021 post by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources on Facebook:

The modern city of Harrisonburg grew up around this modest stone house, which until recently was thought to have been erected for Thomas Harrison ca. 1750. But new research and a dendrochronology study completed by James Madison University in 2018 has determined that it was built ca. 1790; Harrison died in 1785. Harrison laid out the town that was to bear his name on fifty acres of his holdings and was also instrumental in having Harrisonburg established as the Rockingham County seat in 1780. Prior to confirmation of the date of construction, it was believed that the first courts were held in this building, which is also associated with Bishop Francis Asbury, a pioneer leader of the Methodist Episcopal church, who often visited Harrison and conducted some of the county’s first Methodist services. While the original Thomas Harrison house no longer exists, this building remains an early example of stone vernacular architecture in the Shenandoah Valley, and a contributing building in the Harrisonburg Downtown Historic District. Its window architraves are cut from solid walnut timbers. This house remained in the Harrison family until 1870, which is probably why it was long-thought to have been Thomas Harrison’s. The nomination for the property is in the process of being updated based on this important new information. The original nomination, which was written in 1973, is accessible at the link above.

[Photo credit: David Edwards/DHR, 2021]

VLR Listing Date 06/19/1973
NRHP Listing Date 07/26/1973

Read more here: The Harrison House (formerly the Thomas Harrison House)

April 2, 2020 post by Piedmont Environmental Council on Facebook:

Historic Places in the Piedmont: Peter Hitt Log Cabin in Fauquier County.

This is part of our series of posts about fascinating historic places in the Piedmont, some of which you may never have heard of before.

While the Peter Hitt Cabin has not been formally recognized with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places, because of its unique association with Fauquier’s frontier story and high degree of integrity, we believe it is a resource that should be nominated.

--

This is the home of Peter Hitt, the grandson of Peter Hitt, who was one of 42 people to arrive in Virginia in 1714 as indentured servants of Governor Alexander Spotswood. Together, they established the earliest organized settlement of Germans in colonial Virginia along the Rapidan River at Fort Germanna. Peter Hitt (the grandson), was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and following his service he moved west, acquiring a land lease from the heirs of Lord Fairfax along the Rappahannock River in Fauquier County.

Based on dendrochronology, we learned that he built this house in the summer of 1800 from southern yellow pine. Today, the house stands as a capsule in time, a testament to the pioneering spirit of the area’s German settlers, as they continued to push west and create new frontiers. The Germanna Foundation

~Kristie Kendall, PEC’s historic preservation manager

January 25, 2024 post by the Southern Colorado Plateau Network on Facebook:

The Language of Trees: The study of tree rings, dendrochronology, is far more than just counting rings - it’s a method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree ring growth patterns. Trees are excellent indicators of the natural environment and provide researchers with annual historical ecological information. Dendrochronology can answer important questions pertaining to when a structure was built, how long it was inhabited, when people left and why. Pictured here is a great example of how a tree can speak. Aztec Ruins National Monument has much wood incorporated into the structures, and to determine the year in which the structure was built, dendrochronologists examine the outermost ring on wooden beams. This ring represents the year the tree was cut (the last year the tree was alive), and likely the year that this tree was used in construction. (Photo credit: NPS)

Ancient Trees

October 12, 2023 post by the Smithsonian Magazine on Facebook:

"In Search of the Old Ones: An Odyssey among Ancient Trees" from Smithsonian Books is an extraordinary journey to visit the oldest trees in the United States beautifully revealing the connection between humans and natural history.

What We Can Learn from the Oldest Living Trees Experience the wonder of ancient trees with this excerpt from the new book “In Search of the Old Ones”

Hardwoods

Hardwoods is the No. 1 agricultural industry in the state in terms of jobs, wages and economic impact,” ... Indiana hardwood firms create more than $10 billion in annual revenues and support over 70,000 jobs, with a total annual economic impact of more than $15 billion. ... Indiana is ranked first in the U.S. in wood office furniture and hardwood veneer production. Depending on the year, Indiana leads or is in the top five states for wood kitchen cabinets and countertops, engineered wood products, prefabricated wooden buildings and homes, upholstered wooden furniture, and wooden coffins and caskets, for which black walnut is highly prized. Copied from Indiana Hardwoods Industry Is State’s Leading Ag Sector posted November 20, 2022 by Matthew Ernst on Farm Flavor.com.

Indiana's Hardwood Sector at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources states:

High-quality hardwood forests and a business-friendly environment, has made Indiana ranked:

• 1st nationally in the production of wood office furniture and hardwood veneer
• 2nd in wood kitchen cabinets and countertops, manufactured homes
• 3rd in engineered wood products
• 4th in pre-fabricated wood buildings
• 5th in upholstered household furniture

Indiana’s hardwood industry has an annual economic impact of over $10 billion and supports 70,000 jobs -- 44,000 in primary and secondary manufacturing and 26,000 in ancillary sectors. 4.1 of Indiana’s 4.9 million forest acres are privately owned and statewide timber growth exceeds removals for harvest and natural tree mortality by 2.3 times. Hoosier forests offer a sustainable and natural raw material for manufactures that has an environmental impact difficult to beat!

Tree Canopy

October 2, 2023 post by the West Rudisill Neighborhood Association on Facebook:

The Tree Canopy

When the emerald ash borer struck this area more than a decade ago we lost well over 100 ash trees on the boulevard. Over the past 15 years or so the association and friends have spend nearly $25,000 to help the city re-tree the boulevard in order to restore the lush canopy we once had. It is slowly coming back.

Our subordinate goal over these years has been to carry the beauty of Foster Park from Old Mill to Calhoun Street. So, we have planted flowering trees and ornamentals at intersections to emulate the work Parks does in the park.

When city forester Derek Veit appeared last week before council he cited a statistic that credits beautification with lowering crime.

Other studies conclude that an abundance of street trees slows traffic and calms the savages behind the wheel. On Rudisill that is an important goal. Among the trees we have and are yet to plant are also species that emit pleasing fragrances from spring to fall hoping that a little aromatherapy will encourage everyone to slow down and smell the flowering trees, and enjoy life that much more. Those trees often provide seeds and berries to birds who then sing for us.

Another study argues that trees add to property values, so that is another benefit of restoring the canopy.

Before the ash borer those who lived on the boulevard remember trees arching across Rudisill, nearly blocking the sun from the park to Calhoun. Cooling shade, majestic shade and beautification are our goals.

Now, our friend, the city controller, tells us that he has managed to set aside nearly $500,000 new dollars for additional tree plantings throughout the city. We will seek a few of those dollars to complete our canopy.

March 15, 2023 post by Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation on Facebook:

The benefits of trees which can easily be measured have been known for decades, but did you know that some benefits are less easy to measure yet significant to our well-being? Learn more in the latest Parks Podcast with Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Superintendent of Urban Forestry Derek Veit and Park Director Steve McDaniel. https://soundcloud.com/.../parks-podcast-the-benefits-of...

#FortWayneParks, #Podcast

August 25, 2022 post by Tree Canopy Growth Fund on Facebook:

Did you know there’s a Native Trees of Indiana River Walk on the Purdue University Fort Wayne campus?

This 1.25 mile path flows through PFW’s vibrant campus along the St. Joseph River so you can appreciate the native trees of Fort Wayne. On the walk, you’ll see over 100 native trees.

Learn more about the river walk: pfw.edu/microsites/native-trees/

Indiana Hardwood Lumberman's Association https://www.ihla.org/.

September 12, 2023 post by the Indiana DNR Division of Forestry on Facebook:

BIG NEWS! We need your help finding big trees for the Big Tree Registry! Our website has been updated with Big Tree Champions, like this gorgeous sugar maple with a circumference of 210.5 inches and a height of 87.5 feet! We are also excited to unveil our new online nomination system, which will allow you to submit nominations for new big tree candidates year-round! To see the Big Tree Champions and review the instructions for nominating new candidates, please visit our website: Indiana Big Tree Register!

 

Neither Allen County nor our neighboring counties have a current Indiana Big Tree on the register. Back in 2005, the Indiana big sugar maple was in Southpark Cemetery Whitley County from a plaque and newspaper article by the tree. Those big trees found in cemeteries would have been there when our ancestors were buried. The South Park Cemetery was still listed in the 2010 Indiana Big Tree Register on page 12 of the 24 page WordPress blog post.

Indian Trail Marker Trees, Lost Secrets of History. posted Jun 15, 2021 by Dean Cornett on YouTube
Please watch the follow up video on the Indian Marker Trees and How to Age Them. More detailed. LINK : How To Age a Tree without Cutting it Down and more on Indian Trail marker Trees. These Indian Trail Marker Trees at one time where everywhere in and around the Forrest of North America. A look at who made them, How they made them and Why. They are slowly dyeing off now due to their age and so are their secrets of why they are there. Thanks for watching.

Chestnut blight in the early 1900s, Dutch elm disease in the 1950s, and emerald ash borer in the early 2000s have decimated those species of trees. News reports continue to discuss new discoveries of alien species that could become future problems.

American Ash trees

The July 5, 2012 video shown below with Chad Tinkel Fort Wayne Manager of Forestry stated 23% of city street trees were ash trees prior to the arrival of the emerald ash borer.

Google map with photos on Street View 2022 from the MLK, Martin Luther King, bridge has this October 2016 Street View showing fall colors.
An October 4, 2022 photo posted by Visit Fort Wayne on Facebook also showed the hybrid Autmn Purple ash trees lining Clinton Street at Headwaters Park. They have been treated since 2006 to prevent ash borer damage, from the Chad Tinkel video around 3:40 mark, and are some of the few ash trees remaing in the Fort Wayne area.

September 30, 2023 post by Steve Winans on Facebook:

ASH TREES ON CLINTON STREET [Headwaters Park - Chad Tinkel Fort Wayne Manager of Forestry in the 2012 video says the city has treated the trees for emearld ash borer since 2006]

A BEAUTIFUL evening!!

This is a photograph of the Ash Tree lined Clinton Street... I took this photograph looking North on Clinton @ Duck Street... Clinton is one way going South, so people don't normally see this perspective.... Headwaters Park is on both sides of Clinton Street!!

I took this photograph on September 30, 2020 @ 6:45 pm.

I hope you enjoy this look back... it sure was a GORGEOUS Evening.... Just like tonight!!

Can We Save Ash Trees from the Emerald Ash Borer? posted Aug 20, 2014 by Entomological Society of America on YouTube.
This was the winning video for the Outreach Category of the 2014 ESA YouTube Your Entomology contest. It was produced by David Showalter, a PhD student with the Department of Plant Pathology at The Ohio State University, and by Michael Falk, an MS student with the Department of Entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. An invasive beetle known as the emerald ash borer is threatening to eliminate ash trees from North American and European forests, but researchers at The Ohio State University and partner institutions are working to breed trees that can defend themselves.

1. Should Ash Trees Still be Protected From Emerald Ash Borer? May 12th, 2023 in Forests and Street Trees, Invasive Insects, Urban Forestry at FORESTRY & NATURAL RESOURCES Purdue University.edu.
2. Green Ash one of 100 trees on the Native Trees of Indiana River Walk at Purdue University Fort Wayne. Description: The most widely distributed of North American Ash, it is naturally found in swampy woods or on stream banks. Relatively free from insects and disease, and will grow in difficult conditions. Used in revegetation of strip mining areas. Leaves have 5 to 7 stalked leaflets. Many cultivars are available for landscape uses. The Emerald Ash Borer has been found in Indiana! This insect, accidentally introduced from Asia, is lethal to all native Ash species, and the potential for destruction of native Ash trees rivals that of Dutch Elm Disease on American Elm.
3. White Ash one of 100 trees on the Native Trees of Indiana River Walk at Purdue University Fort Wayne. Description: The tree that “powers our national pastime,” White Ash furnishes the wood from which Louisville Slugger baseball bats are crafted. Leaves have 5 to 7 stalked leaflets. Many cultivars are available for landscape uses. The Emerald Ash Borer has been found in Indiana! This insect, accidentally introduced from Asia, is lethal to all native Ash species, and the potential for destruction of native Ash trees rivals that of Dutch Elm Disease on American Elm. ID That Tree: White Ash on Forestry & Natural Resources at Purdue/frn/extension.edu.
4. Fort Wayne records benefit Purdue researchers in fighting emerald ash borer Doug Leduc, Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, Tuesday, August 16, 2016 on Indiana Economic Digest. The first section of the article states: Fort Wayne started losing what eventually would amount to at least 15,000 trees to the emerald ash borer a decade ago. But, the city’s excellent records of the pest’s damage could help save up to 1 billion ash trees in other cities across the county. Records kept by the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department helped a five-member team at Purdue University predict the progression of ash decline over time and conclude that saving the trees early is less costly than replacing them. The team was led by Cliff Sadof, an entomology professor, and Matt Ginzel, an associate professor. It used Fort Wayne’s well-kept records because the Summit City was the first sizable community where trees were attacked by the pest after it arrived in Indiana in 2004. The first U.S. sighting of the beetle was in 2002 in Ohio. It was found in Fort Wayne in 2006 “when we were just figuring out how to control these things and were experimenting with treatments,” Sadof said. “At first we didn’t know how to protect the tree,” he said. “Then, we had to figure out how to do it and make it cost effective. We thought it was going to be a nightmare.”
   1. Support Our Parks page at City of Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation states: TREE CANOPY REPLACEMENT: Our city has faced a major challenge resulting from the destructive effects of the Emerald Ash Borer. Our park strips and parks have lost tree canopy. This is a huge project and one that will not end until the ash tree population is replaced.
   2. A couple of newspaper articles no longer online were City offers discount to remove street ash trees published April 04, 2013, and As a result of the emerald ash borer killing thousands of city ash trees. City crews have removed thousands of the ash trees that once lined the streets of Fort Wayne, but it could take years to remove the 5,000 that remain copied from City’s ash borer war approaching $3 million published August 16, 2013 both by Dan Stockman in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

   3. Hour long video Municipal EAB Management Series: Memo to City Managers Sep 23, 2015 by Emerald Ash Borer University on YouTube
      Presented by Chad Tinkel, Manager of Forestry, City of Fort Wayne, IN on November 29, 2012

   4. 23% of Fort Wayne city street trees were ash trees from Trees Indiana - Fort Wayne Emerald Ash Borer Info Jul 5, 2012 by TreesIndiana1 on YouTube
      Presented by Chad Tinkel, Manager of Forestry, City of Fort Wayne, IN

5. Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) is an exotic beetle that feeds on ash (Fraxinus sp.) trees. Larvae feed in the phloem and outer sapwood, producing galleries that eventually girdle and kill branches and entire trees. This native of Asia was first discovered in southeastern Michigan in July 2002. On April 21, 2004, EAB was confirmed in Indiana. Since that time, this forest pest has spread throughout Indiana and the surrounding states. EAB has been detected in all 92 counties. Copied from Emerald Ash Borer at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
6. The Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis or EAB) is responsible for the destruction of tens of millions of ash trees in 30 states. Native to Asia, it likely arrived in the United States hidden in wood packing materials. The first U.S. identification of Emerald Ash Borer was in southeastern Michigan in 2002. There are a variety of treatment options that can serve as a control measure for the EAB, but they are not a cure. Because pesticide regulations differ from State to State, homeowners should contact their State department of agriculture or local extension office for guidance. Copied from Emerald Ash Borer Beetle at Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service U.S. Department of Agriculture

7. July 16, 2022 post by the USDA Agricultural Research Service on Facebook:

   The invasive emerald ash borer has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America since 2002.

   Fortunately, a tiny parasitic wasp is a promising candidate for controlling the invasive, wood-boring pest. Click to learn more https://go.usa.gov/xSTzZ.

8. April 18, 2023 post by the USDA Agricultural Research Service on Facebook:

   Despite its beautiful colors, the emerald ash borer is an invasive pest that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to trees.

   Scientists with ARS are using two approaches to control this destructive pest: beneficial insects and a genetic technology called RNA interference. Learn more about our research in this area https://bit.ly/3mOOc87

American Chestnut tree

AMERICAN CHESTNUT BLIGHT - Greatest forest loss in history posted Nov 10, 2011 by Dean Cornett on YouTube
There were once almost 4 billion American chestnuts and they were among the largest, tallest, and fastest-growing trees in the eastern forest. The wood was long-lasting, straight-grained, and suitable for furniture, fencing, and building. The nuts fed billions of birds and animals. It was almost a perfect tree - that is, until it was killed by a blight a century ago. That blight has been called the greatest ecological disaster to strike the world's forests in all of history. A tree that had survived all adversaries for 40 million years had disappeared within 40.

1. American Chestnut one of 100 trees on the Native Trees of Indiana River Walk at Purdue University Fort Wayne. Description: Once the dominant tree throughout the eastern deciduous forests of the United States where it grew to impressive dimensions of height and width. In the early 1900's, a fungal disease was introduced from Asia. By 1940, the mighty Chestnut trees had been decimated by this disease. The American Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation works toward developing blight-resistant American Chestnuts and biological controls against Chestnut Blight.
2. The American chestnut was once common in the Oak-Chestnut dry woodlands of the eastern United States. Chestnut blight – a fungal disease (introduced from trees from China) at the Bronx Zoo in New York in 1904 – killed approximately 3.5 billion American chestnut trees in less than 50 years. Chestnuts are considered functionally extinct because the blight fungus does not kill the tree's root system underground. American chestnuts attempt to survive by sending up stump sprouts that grow vigorously in logged or otherwise disturbed sites but inevitably succumb to the blight and die back to the ground. It is very rare to find even a stump sprout chestnut in the forest. Chestnuts were fast-growing, rot-resistant, and the wood was used to make cabin logs, barns, furniture, fence posts and railroad ties. Sweet, acorn-size nuts were prized by wildlife. Copied from a longer article Chestnut blight keeps trees from growing locally by Ricky Kemery published Nov 23, 2021 Updated Jun 3, 2022 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
3. 
   American Chestnut Foundation photo
   Sometimes reaching a height of more than 100 feet tall with trunk diameters often well over 10 feet, the American chestnut was the giant of the eastern U.S. forests. There were once billions of them and their range stretched from Georgia and Alabama to Michigan, but the majestic tree was gone before forest science existed to document its role in the ecosystem. Notes left by early foresters including Gifford Pinchot, the founder and first chief of the USDA Forest Service, suggest that its ecological role was as impressive as the tree’s size [shown on cover of Realistic Restoration Targets] (PDF, 1.3 MB). Mature American chestnuts have been virtually extinct for decades. The tree’s demise started with something called ink disease in the early 1800s, which steadily killed chestnut in the southern portion of its range. The final blow happened at the turn of the 20th century when a disease called chestnut blight swept through Eastern forests. The disappearance of the chestnut launched a profound change in the structure and composition of eastern forests. Copied from a longer article What it Takes to Bring Back the Near Mythical American Chestnut Trees posted by Jane Hodgins, Public Affairs Specialist, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service in Forestry Jul 29, 2021 at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
4. The American Chestnut Foundation https://acf.org/
5. The American chestnut was wiped out a century ago. Could it make a comeback? by Jacob Fenston posted October 18, 2021on NPR Station WAMU 88.5 an NPR station.

6. September 14, 2022 post by Mt. Cuba Center on Facebook:

   Finding a 70-foot tall, 50-years-old American chestnut (Castanea dentata) tree is practically unheard of, but in 2019 a hunter near Mt. Cuba Center on the Coverdale Farm Preserve found such a rarity. Mt. Cuba arborist, Eric Kelley, climbed the tree to collect pollen samples that, as of August 2022, confirmed the tree is 100 percent American chestnut – a cause for major celebration as finds like this are not only incredibly rare, but provide researchers with an invaluable information source. WHYY covered the news and recently released this article describing the find: Eagle-eyed Delaware hunter chances upon ‘holy grail’ of tree lovers — full-grown American chestnut.

   Mt. Cuba collaborates with The American Chestnut Foundation and some of their affiliates, like Tyler Arboretum and Delaware Nature Society, to grow American chestnuts in hopes of one day establishing healthy populations. In Mt. Cuba’s natural lands there is an American/Chinese chestnut backcross orchard, and there are progeny of the Coverdale chestnut growing in our greenhouses. If you want to learn more about what Mt. Cuba does to support American chestnut conservation, read our American chestnut blog here: Conserving the American Chestnut

7. December 6, 2022 post by Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves on Facebook:

   It used to be a common occurrence seeing a mature American chestnut (Castanea dentata) in eastern Ohio. It was a common tree prior to the 20th century and important food source for numerous animals, including the extinct passenger pigeon. This would all change at the turn of the century when the chestnut blight was accidentally introduced from Asia. It raced across the eastern US and by 1950 an estimated 4 billion chestnuts were gone and the tree reproductively went almost extinct.

   Today, it’s not uncommon to find stump sprouts in the eastern half of Ohio but a mature fruit-producing tree is extremely rare. The blight uses various oak species as a host and frequently attacks and kills back resprouted chestnuts.

   Featured here is one of Ohio’s largest and most impressive remaining chestnuts. It’s a treat to see the ground covered in its distinctive spiky burrs this time of year. Unfortunately, chestnuts require cross-pollination and this lonely solo tree’s burrs produce aborted nuts. It persists and offers a glimpse to our state's past.

8. August 2, 2023 discussion on Appalachian Americans on Facebook.

9. American Chestnut Trees once the Pride of the Appalachia's posted Jul 26, 2022 by DONNIE LAWS on YouTube

   The American Chestnut Oak tree was the pride of the Appalachian Mountains. Among the most common and tallest trees of the mountains from Maine to Mississippi. These people depended on these tress for their livelihood and way of life. Thanks for watching. NOTE: Some pictures are just to tell the story and not the actual pictures.

10. December 14, 2023 post by the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park on Facebook:

    “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” is the opening lyric to the Christmas song written by Mel Tormé and made famous by Nat King Cole.

    Have you ever had roasted chestnuts? This Christmas treat was very popular throughout much of the Eastern United States in the 18th and 19th centuries.

    Perhaps the Hensleys and the Gibbons treated themselves to this holiday food during cold winters at the settlement. Chestnuts grew plentiful on top of the Cumberland Mountain.

    In fact, when Sherman Hensley first arrived on the mountain in 1903, the American Chestnut dominated the landscape. The families used the wood for building materials, and the nuts as food for their livestock. The hogs and sheep loved the chestnuts, and—most likely—so did the families!

    Sadly, the American chestnut trees at Hensley Settlement fell victim to the same blight that killed chestnuts throughout the country.

    Originating from a fungus that first arrived in New York City in 1904, the blight spread throughout North America, killing most of the chestnut trees within 40 years. The blight was devastating for many a homesteading family, including the inhabitants of Hensley Settlement: they not only lost an important building material, but also a food source.

    As Sherman Hensley later recalled, “the hogs never tasted the same after the blight.”

    #RoastinChestnutsDay #ChristmasSong

    Image: Creative Commons, Wikipedia

    Nat King Cole - "The Christmas Song" November 24, 2017 on YouTube
    Nat King Cole performing his holiday classic, "The Christmas Song." Copyright King Cole Partners, LLC.
    Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, Yuletide carols being sung by a choir, And folks dressed up like Eskimos - go to rest of the Lyrics

American Elm tree

The Story of the American Elm posted Apr 23, 2020 by Wake County, North Carolina on YouTube
Park staff had originally planned to hold a program for Arbor Day, which is being celebrated on April 24th. We planned to explore the history of this special day; examine the importance of trees to daily life; look at some of the threats facing trees today; and take a walk to see different notable trees in the park. With April programs now cancelled, we wanted to share part of that program with you through this video about the American elm tree that can be found in the park mill yard. We hope you will enjoy it!

1. American Elm one of 100 trees on the Native Trees of Indiana River Walk at Purdue University Fort Wayne. Description: Once used extensively as a street tree, in its best form American Elm is vase-shaped and strongly arched above with drooping branches. Dutch Elm Disease, a wilt fungus introduced from Europe in the 1930’s and spread by Elm Bark Beetles, caused the devastation of most trees, and continues to cause losses among remaining trees.

2. February 4, 2021 post by The Journal Gazette on Facebook:

   HISTORY JOURNAL // Aug. 10, 1956 // Workers remove an elm tree on Nuttman Avenue. The dead tree was among hundreds that had to be removed as Dutch elm disease spread through the city.

   Dutch elm disease is caused from a fungus carried on the bodies of beetles. It has wiped out the elms in many large cities in the East. Only one case was noted here in 1949; two in 1950; four each in 1951 and 1952; and three in 1953. In 1954 the department discovered 23 dead elms and in 1955, some 334 were removed! Yesterday [August 9, 1956] it was reported than 198 trees have had to be removed thus far this season. There were an estimated 14,000 elms in the city. Copied Aug. 10, 1956: Taking down an elm tree by Corey McMaken with a photo showing an elm tree being cut down.

3. August 26, 2021 post by The Journal Gazette on Facebook:

   HISTORY JOURNAL // July 19, 1969: Crews work to remove a dead tree. Thousands of trees were removed starting in the 1950s as Dutch elm disease spread through the area.

   In 1959 alone, 1,328 elms were removed, including 1,081 along streets, according to a 1960 Journal Gazette story. In 1959, staff was added and new mechanical equipment was bought to help in the fight, such as a mobile aerial tower for the removal of tree limbs. The first three years of the battle cost the city about $120,000, according to the 1960 JG story. Copied from a longer article Elm disease consumed decades Corey McMaken.

4. August 22, 2023 post by LC Nature Park on Facebook:

   The American Elm (Elmba americana), a large deciduous tree known for its wide-spread canopy and doubly-toothed leaves, used to be an iconic tree species in the United States, and is the next tree in the #50tressofindiana. It was often planted in parks, scattered on campuses, and along roads and streets for its glorious encompassing shade and beauty.

   Unfortunately, their wide existence has dwindled, largely thanks to the devastation of Dutch Elm Disease (DED). (This disease is not of Dutch origin; rather, the pathologists who worked on researching the disease were Dutch.) DED has killed hundreds of thousands of native elms across the US. The fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi (good luck pronouncing that!) causes the disease and spreads via elm bark beetles. DED slowly kills the tree by clogging the tree's water-conducting vessels, which leads to wilt, yellowing leaves, and eventually, death.

   The good news is that disease-resistant elm cultivars and hybrids are available or being developed, such as 'Princeton' and 'Valley Forge'. Hopefully, in time, the elm population will return to solid numbers, as it is once again being used to line our streets and fill our yards, parks, and campuses (selectively, of course).

   *Fifty Common Trees of Indiana was written by the late T.E. Shaw (with help from the extension forestry staff of Purdue University); it includes 51 trees (not 50 as the title would have you believe) common to Indiana. He wrote this booklet for "Hoosiers who want to become acquainted with Indiana trees." ⁠ We hope that includes you.

Pawpaw trees

1. Pawpaw – the Indiana Banana? John E. Woodmansee, December 24, 2021, Garden, Purdue Extension News, Purdue University Extension.
2. Pawpaws: What you need to know about the 'Hoosier banana' Karl Schneider August 7, 2023 Indianapolis Star.
3. Pawpaw on the NATIVE TREES OF INDIANA RIVER WALK at Purdue Fort Wayne.

September 21, 2020 post by Young Urban Homesteaders on Facebook:

It’s Paw Paw season

A.k.a the Indiana Banana

This fruit has been around since Pangea! Yep, that’s right! Since all the continents were one large landmass! They actually evolved before the honeybee, thus they are pollinated by flies and beetles.

So, technically it’s an ancient fruit

The Paw Paw is one of my favorite fall treats! Plus, it is a good source of many vitamins, minerals. It is even a great source of B vitamins, Calcium, and Iron

Have you ever enjoyed a Paw Paw? Tell us your experience in the comments!

#pawpaw #indianabanana #poormansbanana #deliciousaf #localaf #ancientfruit #pangea #wegrewthese #tropicalgoodness #midwestisbest

September 17, 2023 post by the Wabash County Historian on Facebook:

We grow more than corn in Wabash County. These are PAW PAWS (technical [scientific] name is Asimina triloba) also called INDIANA BANANAS. Its that time of the year again when they begin to ripen. Indiana Bananas are ripening and are bigger and better than last year. Known as paw paws they are a yellowish green to brownish black tropical fruit found right here in Indiana. Some say they taste like a banana with a hint of mango and melon. Other claim they are more like a papaya, pear, or pineapple. One taste tester said it tastes like “sour, banana flavored custard.” You decide. Found in "patches" in shady, rich bottom land. the tree can get up to 40 feet with large leaves that point to the ground in clusters. Paw Paw Creek and Paw Paw Township are named for them. Some of you may remember an old song "Pickin' up paw paws put them in a basket," well this is where the song came from. The fruit does not travel well so you will probably never find them in a store. Seeds of the Paw Paw have been found in early Native American archeological sites.

Ginger Jagger recalls" I remember as a young girl going paw paw picking. Our dad drove out in the country somewhere and me and my sisters filled our pockets full of them. I got hot going home and took off my jacket, forgot I had paw paws and sat on my jacket!" Keith Snyder adds

"Good luck finding them. The squirrels and deer eat 'em as fast as they get ripe"

WPD 9-19-1908 “Hoosier bananas are being picked. They are of remarkable size and are delicious.”

September 15, 2022 post by Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves on Facebook:

Today is National Paw Paw Day! We celebrate the amazing pawpaw. Pawpaw is the most northern member of the family Annonaceae, custard-apple family.

This deciduous, subcanopy tree forms colonies "pawpaw patch" in rich woods, occurring on stream terraces, lower slopes and mid to upper slopes on north and east facing slopes.

The purplish-red flowers bloom from April to May and release a "yeasty" odor to attract beetles.

Pawpaw is most famous for its fruit which is the largest native fruit in North America. In recent decades there has been more interest in the cultivation of pawpaw as a food source. The Paw Paw Festival near Athens, Ohio has become a popular event featuring many different uses of the fruit.

Most species in this family occur in the sub-tropics and tropics. In Ohio it occurs in every county. It is not difficult to find a colony of this beautiful tree, but it is hard to find the fruit.

For more information on the Pawpaw:

Pawpaw

September 25, 2022 post by My Indiana Home on Facebook:

Pawpaws are affectionately nicknamed “Hoosier bananas,” though the flavor is more a blend of banana, pineapple, melon and mango. Check out these fascinating facts about indigenous tropical fruit!

Farm Facts: Pawpaws;

August 19, 2023 post by The Decolonial Atlas on Facebook:

Welcome to another bountiful harvest of Turtle Island's largest native fruit.

September 4, 2023 post by Appalachian Forager on Facebook:

September 14, 2023 post by Mt. Cuba Center on Facebook:

Today is National Pawpaw Day! Pawpaws (Asimina triloba) belong to the custard apple plant family, Annonaceae, members of which are found mostly in tropical regions. The pawpaw is North America’s largest native edible fruit. It looks like a small mango and has a creamy texture and tropical taste that is often compared to bananas. The tropical reference doesn't stop at fruit flavor though, the plant’s large, glossy leaves stand out in the garden and lend the tree an exotic look. Have you ever tried a pawpaw?

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