Fallen Mt. Vernon Tree Stood the Test of Time-- Part 2: George Washington Probably Saw It

It fell just before midnight on November 4.  Said Dean Norton, Mount Vernon director of horticulture:  "Middle of the night.  No wind.  It just falls over."

It was about 115 feet tall, 12 feet around and roughly 230 years old, almost as old as the United States.

Witness to so much history, "trees just give up on occasion," Norton said.  It wasn't sick, "It was just its time."

The tree dated to at least 1780 according to Norton who then cut it and measured its rings that help date it and tell its story.  His count, he admits, is on the conservative side and it could be older.

George Washington owned the Mount Vernon plantation along with its home and more than 100 slaves.   He and his wife Martha are buried on the property, which is on the Potomac River about 15 miles south of Washington.

The Mount Vernon people said that wood from the tree will be used to make repairs.

--CootTree

Fallen Mt. Vernon Tree Stood the Test of Time-- Part 1: George Washington's Tree

From the Nov. 24, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Michael E. Ruane, the Washington Post.

It was probably a sapling when George Washington returned triumphant to Mt. Vernon in1783 after the American Revolution.  It was probably there in 1787 when he left for the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and it grew during his terms as the country's first president.

It was there when he came home for good and when he died in 1799.

Droughts came and went, along with two centuries of American history.  During the Civil War, soldiers carved insignia into its bark

Then,late one night, earlier this month the tired old white oak gave out and came crashing down across a road in the woods.

Caretakers at Mount Vernon heard it fall just before midnight November 4.

--Cooter

The First US Preservation Group

I received a flyer from George Washington's Mount Vernon asking for money. Unfortunately, property taxes and a new air conditioner says no at this time.

However, I found information in the flyer of particular interest.

Back in 1853, Louisa Bird Cunningham of South Carolina was on a trip on the Potomac when she passed Mount Vernon and found the scene distressing. The weathered paint was chipping, the piazza roof held up by masts of old ships, and lawn overgrown with weeds.

Her daughter, Ann Pamela, formed the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, the first preservation organization in America.

Ordinary people from all across the US donated money and the dream to return the house to its former glory came to be. By 1858, the remnants had been acquired.

Today, Mount Vernon's 14 original structures make up the most complete 18th-century plantation in America.

Some of the projects needing to be funded: cupola $35,000; roof $600,000, large dining room $120,000, mansion steps $36,000 and small dining room $40,000.

A Worthy Project. --Cooter