iii

4i

m

w&M

mm

riiss
*«
THE

GREAT TREE

BOSTON COMMON.

J. C. WARREN, M.D.,

PRESIDENT OP THE BOSTON SOCIETY OP NATURAL HISTOEY.

BOSTON:
PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON & SON,
22, School Street.
1855.

THE

GREAT TREE ON THE COMMON.

At a meeting of the Boston Society of Natural
History some time since, the age of the large elm on
Boston Common became accidentally a subject of dis
cussion. On this discussion, it appeared there was
some difference of opinion, which led the writer of
these remarks to make inquiry into the facts, and
endeavor to ascertain the age of the tree. This in
quiry seems to be of no great importance at first
view; but, independently of serving for the gratifica
tion of a proper curiosity, it may assist us in estab
lishing the period of the duration of this valuable
ornament to our country.
We propose, then, to notice this tree, not because
it is a larger "tree than any other in the country, nor
because it is older or taller. The Aspinwall elm has

a greater diameter; there have been a number of
trees, cut down from time to time, which have been
thought to have a greater age ; and the elm on
Pittsfield Common, as we are informed by Professor
Holmes, is a hundred and fourteen feet before the
first branch is given off: of course, it is taller. This
tree is an object of interest, from the fact of its being
placed in the centre of Boston Common, and thence
having attracted the attention of every native Bos-
tonian. It is also interesting for other reasons. It
has not only escaped the blasts which have occa
sionally threatened to annihilate it, but the more
alarming threats of destruction from a British army
encamped around it suffering under the severity of a
winter's exposure. Thanks are due from the present
and succeeding generations to General Gage, the
commander of that army, for having preserved this
and other valuable trees in Boston from being em
ployed in protecting his troops against the severity of
the climate.
It was the frequent scene, and in some measure
the instrument, of inflicting vengeance on those
whom popular indignation, whether justly or not,
thought proper to stigmatize and terrify by hanging
or burning in effigy. The writer was witness, and

in some degree an adverse actor, in a scene of this
kind during the political riots of 1806. At a later
period, for many months, it had to withstand the
dangers from the little army encamped around it,
destined to protect the town in the war of 1812.
Many tumultuous scenes have endangered its exist
ence on the annual recurrence of Election and Inde
pendence days, when there was no restraint in the
public use of stimulants, which on those occasions
so often drove men to madness, bloodshed, and all
kinds of excesses. These circumstances will perhaps
be thought sufficient to justify the attention we have
bestowed on it.
A drawing has been introduced to give an idea of
its present appearance to a succeeding generation.
The map was inserted to show, that in 1722 this tree
was represented as the largest tree in Boston : it is a
diminished copy of the earliest plan of Boston, viz.,
that of Capt. John Bonner, published in 1722. This
gentleman had previously sketched some portions of
the wharves in the proximity of Long Wharf. The
sketches, though vakable, included no part of Boston
but the wharves already mentioned; and the plan of
1722 is undoubtedly the earliest complete one. The
only copy of it which existed for many years within

my knowledge was in the possession of Joseph Peirce,
Esq., of which I obtained a fac-simile to be drawn
by a lady of Boston nearly forty years ago. In
1835, Mr. George H. Smith reprinted Bonner's plan,
which corresponds with mine, and proves the exact
ness of the drawing. The diminished map is an
exact copy of Capt. Bonner's ; some trees, too small
for representation in a diminished view, only being
omitted. The Great Tree, and two trees at the head
of Park Street, are well represented in their propor
tion to co-existing trees and to each other.

This tree is an American Elm, belonging to a
species admired and cultivated abroad for its grace
fully pendent branches. It is known by the most
ancient surviving inhabitants of Boston as THE
GREAT TREE. Citizens, who were of advanced
age in the youth of those who are now the oldest
inhabitants, knew it equally as THE GREAT
TREE. The writer of this, having always lived in the vici
nity of the Common, where it is situated, and for
half a century within sight of it, has a distinct recol
lection of its appearance for about seventy years.

When he first knew it, it bore strong marks of de
crepitude and approaching dissolution. There was
a large orifice in the bark of its trunk, through
which a boy, eight or nine years old, could creep into
its cavity; and in a picture wrought in 1755 by Miss
Hannah Otis, aunt of the late distinguished orator
and statesman, Harrison G. Otis, the same orifice is
also represented, — thus adding thirty years to its
known period of decrepitude.
The interior of the trunk was rotten, and much of
it had disappeared. The aperture was from two to
three feet in length, and about a foot in breadth. For
many years, it was neglected ; but when, in process of
time, the spirit of improvement extended to its part
of the Common, the edges of the aperture were pro
tected by a mixture of clay and other substances, and
the exterior covered by canvas fastened around it. In
consequence of these attentions, the parts have been
regenerated; and the opening, so far as can be as
certained, filled and obliterated.* We presume the
* The same process is now in successful operation in two American elms
remaining in Park Street. The bark on the side towards the street was torn
off by the passage of carriages. To accomplish their recovery, the trees were
first guarded by forming a sideway with raised stones ; and the wound, having
been seasonably protected by a covering, has gradually healed, and is now
reduced to a third part of its original dimensions. The trees, in the mean
time, have increased a quarter part in size.

8
trunk to be weakened ; and, if the tree possessed all
its original branches, there would be danger of its
being overturned by the wind. To what extent the
interior has been repaired, it is impossible to deter
mine ; but that a portion of the cavity may have been
obliterated by the formation of new woody fibre, is
demonstrable by a specimen which happens to present
itself at the moment of writing this. A violent wind
storm, which occurred on Sunday, June 10, 1855,
tore off a hollow branch of a tree in the Hospital
grounds ; by which it appeared that the edges of the
aperture were coated with bark, and this bark was
supported by new woody fibre which had lately been
generated by the leaves, and was thus gradually clos
ing up the cavity.
Standing alone (as it has done), and unprotected
.by trees or houses, it has frequently been attacked by
storms, and large branches torn off. In the month of
June, 1831, a violent storm partially separated four
large limbs, and so far detached them that they
rested on the ground. Mr. James A. Sutton, now
Master Block Maker at the Navy Yard, Charlestown
(then apprentice to Mr. Daniel Adams, Pump and
Block Maker), informs me that he was sent with a
party of apprentices and citizens to endeavor to rein-

state the prostrate limbs in their natural situation.
By judicious efforts, they succeeded in raising and
bolting them together. The bolts are still visible,
and afford the only indications of these limbs having
been separated, as they appear now at the end of
twenty-three years to be completely united.
The branches, however, are greatly diminished in
number, especially on the south-east side, which has
suffered most from storms ; and their beautifully pen
dent character is diminished, so that they no longer
sweep the surface of the ground. But, although
worn by the storms of ages, it is still a magnificent
object. No doubt its peculiar situation has contri
buted to its growth, preservation, and renovation ; for
it stands in a rich hollow, near a permanent pond of
water situated a little higher than its roots. In 1844,
it was measured by the distinguished botanists,
George B. Emerson, Esq., and Professor Asa Gray
(vide " A Report on the Trees and Shrubs growing
naturally in Mass.") ; at which time its measurement
was as follows: "At the ground, 23 ft. 6 in. ; at
three feet, 17 ft. 11 in. ; and at five feet, 16 ft. 1 in."
Mr. Chesbrough, City Engineer, having recently mea
sured this tree at our request, gives the dimensions
as it now stands, viz. : " Height, 72£ ft. ; height of

10
first branch from the ground, 16£ ft. ; girth, one foot
above the ground, 22£ ft. ; girth, four feet above the
ground, 17 ft. ; average diameter of greatest extent
of branches, 101 ft."
The age and origin of this tree are matters of
much interest to Bostonians. In a map in my pos
session, published during the administration of Go
vernor Burnett, beautifully engraved and having the
date of 1729, the Great Tree stands, as now, insula
ted from other trees : near it is the Pond, the ancient
springs of which are now aided by a noble fountain
of Cochituate water. At a short distance westward
is represented the Powder Magazine, placed on a
small well-known eminence, which, during the siege
of Boston, was the seat of a British fortification. In
another plan of Boston still older, 1722, a copy of
which accompanies this work, it is again found in the
same situation, an insulated tree, comparatively of
great size. From its conspicuous appearance on the
plans, we infer that it might have been more than a
hundred years old at that time; and, of course, that
it took its origin previous to the establishment of
Governor Winthrop in Boston in 1630, or of Mr.
William Blackstone before that period.
Some persons have thought, and it has been stated

ii
in the "Boston Commercial Gazette" of April 25,
1825, but on what authority is not mentioned, that
the tree was planted in 1670 by Capt. Henchman, an
officer who had distinguished himself in the Indian
wars. Capt. H. was a member of the Ancient and
Honorable Artillery Company, an ancestor of Gover
nor Hancock ; and the statement says, that he planted
this tree to shelter the Company during their parades
on the Common. Many years ago, a venerable man
and particular friend of mine, whom I have always
supposed to be the author of the published account,
made the same statement in the presence of a num
ber of gentlemen. I took occasion to inform him,
that this was probably a mistake ; and, being shown
the old plans of Boston, he appeared to be convmced
of his error, and never repeated the story within my
knowledge, though I conversed with him on the sub
ject afterwards. I presume that he had no authority,
excepting a report emanating from a lady who was a
near relation of a descendant of Captain Henchman.
There appears to be no sufficient foundation for this
belief: if there is any good authority for the report,
either traditionary or recorded, I am thus far unable,
after diligent inquiry, to satisfy myself or any one
else of its authenticity. It would seem also highly

12
improbable that Captain Henchman or our earlier
ancestors should have planted a tree for shelter in
a situation so remote as that of this tree formerly
was. In the two plans of Boston, 1722 and 1729, it is
always represented as a great tree ; i. e., greater than
any other tree co-existing on these plans. There
were within the memory of living persons two or
three other trees of extraordinary magnitude. Two
of these stood at the head of Park Street (vide
Map), in what is now the Carriage-way : they, how- ¦
ever, were obviously not of so great size. These
two trees are not to be confounded with the two now
standing in Park Street already mentioned, and which
are also spoken of hereafter. If, then, this tree was a
great tree in 1729 and 1722, it could not have been
planted in 1670; for this would allow only fifty-two
years for its growth. Its size and other characters
would have required more than double that time at
the earliest period of its representation.
The two plans above mentioned afford an opportu
nity of comparing the growth of well-known existing
trees with the other, though they are not perhaps
of exactly the same species. The trees in the Little
Mall, so called, were planted by Colonel Adino Pad-

13
dock in 1770.* They are, of course, more than eighty
years old; and these trees are not so large as the
earliest recollections of the Great Tree by persons
now living. The trees in the Great Mall were
planted, as appears from the plans, between the years
1722 and 1729. Those of them which remain are
about one hundred and thirty years old, but have not
the size of the Great Tree at the period of its notice,
on the earliest plan.
It may be objected, that the growth of the Ameri
can elm is very rapid ; and that the tree, if planted in
1670, as is believed by some, if it had attained five or
six years before being transplanted, might, in a period
of fifty-two years more, reach a size which would
entitle it to a respectable representation on a map
of Boston. In order to determine the probability of
such a growth, I have examined elms on my own
place in Brookline, whose ages were from ten to sixty
years. The largest and oldest individual of these,
planted in the year 1798, is six feet in circumference
* Two of the walks in Boston were formerly designated by the names,
" Great Mall " and " Little Mall." The "Great Mall" borders the eastern
edge of the Common; and the "Little Mall," the eastern edge of the
Granary Burying-ground. The last named was planted with English
elms by Col. Paddock ; the other, about fifty years previously, with a mixture
of elms and buttonwoods (platanus occidentalis). Mr. Paddock was a loyal
ist, left Boston in the year 1776, and settled in Nova Scotia, where his
descendants live and flourish.

14
at four feet from the surface of the ground : a dozen
others, of the same age, have not more than two-thirds
of these dimensions. An account of an elm situated
in Ware, in this State, has been published in the news
papers, which is said to be about fifty years old, and
has obtained the circumference of about twelve feet at
six feet from the ground ; the boughs covering an area
whose circumference is about one hundred and fifty
feet. The statement, however, is not made with any
authority, and the facts are mentioned rather too
loosely to form a ground of any important deduction.
Having lived, as before intimated, on the edge of
the Common for nearly fifty years, my life has been
long enough to notice the growth of some of its
American elms. President Quincy in 1824 planted
two rows of elms in Park-street Mall. These trees,
thirty years of age, average in circumference less
than four feet, in diameter a foot and a third. In
Park Street, a line of elms was planted some years
before I came to live there. This plantation, as far
I can ascertain, was made in consequence of a dona
tion to the town of a sum intended to improve the
Common and its vicinity by Gov. Hancock, Gov.
Bowdoin, Thomas Russell, Esq., and others, proba
bly (as the Hancock family think) about the year

15
1786. The two trees remaining of this line measure,
one of them, 7 ft. 3 in. ; the other, 6 ft. 4 J in., in
circumference ; and, though more than sixty years old,
they have thus but little over two feet in diameter,
and cannot be considered as great trees. The distin
guished gentleman named above, President Quincy,
has on his ancestral seat at Quincy two walks of
these trees planted within his knowledge. One of
these was set out in the year 1790, being of the
girth usually attained by the upland elms when at
the height of ten or twelve feet; in number they
were about two hundred. Of these elms, at four feet
from the ground, five of the largest are now, after a
period of nearly sixty-five years, of the average girth
of 5 ft. 8 in. Five of the smallest average in girth
4 ft. 2 in. In the second walk set out in 1812, at the
same distance from the ground, four of the largest are
in girth 3 ft. 10 in. ; four of the smallest, 3 ft. 2 in. ;
the period being forty-three years.
We may conclude then, I think, that the growth
between 1670 and 1722, a period of fifty-two years,
could not have entitled the Great Tree, so called,
to the conspicuous representation it has on Bon
ner's map.
The history of other aged elms might perhaps aid

16

us, in elucidating the point in question. There is one
which has attracted notice, whose age may be deter
mined with apparent certainty : it is the Aspinwall
elm in Brookline, near the former Smallpox Hospi
tal. This was planted in 1656, and must, of course,
have been three or four years old at the time of its
transplantation, so that at the present time it is at
least two hundred years old. Its appearance leads
us to believe it may live at least a hundred years
more ; * and this we think a fair age to assign to the
American elm situated in favorable circumstances, so
far as we are acquainted with its history. Whence
we conclude there is nothing improbable in the belief
that the Elm on Boston Common is more than two
hundred years old.
But, as it was certainly the Great Tree in 1729
and 1722, we may indulge the belief, that it sprang
up previous to the settlement of Boston ; that it cast
its protecting shade over the heads of our earliest
American ancestors ; and that even the native inhabi-
* Since writing the above passage, I have examined this tree, and find
that its annual foliage has been almost wholly devoured by the canker-worm,
in common with many other trees in the low land of Brookline. It appears
at this time like a frightful skeleton ; and there is a question whether it will
ever recover from the shock it has received. In its death, we shall have to
deplore the loss of one of the finest natural ornaments of this part of the
country.

17
tant of the soil enjoyed the protection of its wide-
spreading branches.
This tree, therefore, we must venerate as a visible
relic of the Indian Shawmut ; for all its other na
tive trees and groves have been long since prostrated ;
the frail and transient memorials of the Aborigines
have vanished; even the hills of Trimountain can
not be distinguished; and this native noble elm
remains to present a substantial association of the
existing with the former ages of Boston.
The present active and intelligent Mayor of our
city, Dr. J. V. C. Smith, has erected a handsome iron
fence as a permanent protection to this valuable relic
of the early days of the city, with the following
inscription, viz. : —
•'THE OLD ELM.
" This tree has been standing here for an unknown period. It is
believed to have existed before the settlement of boston,
being full grown in 1722. exhibited marks of
old age in 1792, and was nearly destroyed
by a storm in 1832. protected
by an iron enclosure
IN 1854.
»J. V. C. SMITH, iRHagor."
3

19

NOTES,

A poetic imagination might present striking pictures of the
various scenes which have occurred in the vicinity of this
tree, from the period when it was surrounded by the native
sons of the soil to that which was exhibited when the Com
mon shone with the brilliant armor of British troops in 1768
and 1775. Among the multitude of interesting occurrences
which have distinguished the spot where it stands, one or
two may be mentioned.
The earliest of these, drawn from "The History of
Boston, by Samuel G. Drake, Esq.," is in the following
language : — " 1676, July £7. Another of the Nipmuck
Sachems, called 'Sagamore John,' influenced about one
hundred and sixty Indians to surrender at Boston. One
among them, old Matoonas, he brought in by force, being
'bound with cords.' He was immediately condemned to
death ; for he was not only the father of him who was hung
in Boston several years before, but he was charged with
being the first to commit murder in Massachusetts Colony
in this war. His betrayer, ' Sagamore John,' was desirous
that he and his men might be the executioners ; wherefore
Matoonas was carried out into the Common, and being tied
to a tree, they then shot him to death."
There is a curious history of a fatal duel, of which the
ground near this Tree was the seat, on July 3d, 1728. Two
young gentlemen of the most distinguished families in the

20

town were supposed to have disputed for the possession of a
young lady, whose name is now buried in forgetfulness.
The principal actors in this affair were Mr. Benjamin Wood-
bridge, a descendant of the family whose name stands first
among the graduates of Harvard College ,- the other was Mr.
Henry Phillips, of a family not less distinguished ; both of
them were about twenty years old. The combat took place
in the evening. The parties contended with rapiers ; and
Woodbridge, being thrust through the body, lived but a
short time. His antagonist fled, and took refuge in a Brit
ish ship of war in the harbor, which safely transported him
to the English shores ; where, however, he could not escape
from his own recollections, and died soon after, a victim to
despair. The monument of Benjamin Woodbridge is still
to be seen in the Granary Burying-ground at a short dis
tance from the gate on the south side. The story is told in
a very interesting way by the distinguished author, " The
Sexton of the Old School," who is also well known by
the signature of Sigma, in the " Boston Evening Transcript "
for April 25, 1851. A collection of the valuable researches
of this author into a distinct volume would be an interesting
and important acquisition.

Jhitiit,} . HuKtmi ^N.E.i^D So7<7 7>v tup? Jo/m 21,

wrier t/7u? T/'i// '" Ji-i.

wst \ Town Eoitse wJurc w*tj f>e Itiuf aU sorte- or' JJr/sif# Af •*/•/>¦>• J

'YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 02420 0629