There is something comforting about a grand old tree – a tree with a trunk so large that even the tree huggers among us can’t wrap their arms around its girth. These grandfathers of the forest offer a steadfastness that cannot often be found in today’s fast-paced and changing world.
For those who find value in big trees – who enjoy their cover and hope to share them with future generations – finding them can be difficult and random. Centuries of human impact have altered the forested landscape, reducing magnificent groves of old-growth trees to isolated individuals and robbing today’s generation of the comfort of old trees.
A Brief History
In the Southeast, many big trees were lost during and immediately after the Civil War when centuries-old stands of trees were cut for fuel and to provide timber for fortifications, warehouses, and military bridges. In "The History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga, Tennessee," author Zella Armstrong notes that a grove of old-growth trees once covered Cameron Hill until soldiers cut the trunks and dug up the roots to provide fuel for campfires. According to Armstrong’s research, only 51 shade trees remained in Chattanooga at the end of the Civil War.
In the late 1800s, the timber industry began impacting Southeastern forests as a whole. According to the Forest History Society, the largest and highest quality trees were cut first: cherry, ash, walnut, oak and tulip poplars, which were often as large as 25 feet in circumference. Later, a demand for hemlock, spruce and chestnut trees grew.
The coal industry was growing in the Southeast at about the same time, further impacting trees and forests.
In the early 1900s, the Chestnut blight nearly wiped out the magnificent American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) trees that dominated the forests and mountains of the eastern United States. Prior to the blight, which was imported from Asia, giant Chestnut trees over 10 feet in diameter and 100 feet in height were not uncommon.
Today, habitat destruction and non-native invasive insects and plant diseases continue to wreak havoc on North American forests.
Become a Tree Hunter
Various state and national organizations are working together to protect and preserve noteworthy trees in an effort to recognize their significance within their communities and the natural world. However, they need the public’s assistance in this effort.
Nominating a champion tree is something adults and children can do together. Finding big trees to nominate for the state and national register can be a fun family activity in the winter when going outdoors can take a little more inspiration. We can all be big tree hunters, if we just open our eyes to the towering sentinels that surround us.
Tennessee has several registers that document remarkable trees. Large trees make up the state’s Champion Tree List; famous and historic trees make up the Landmark and Historic Tree Registry; significant trees of the past are listed on the Heritage Tree List.
Tennessee Champion Trees
The Tennessee Champion Tree List is administered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Forestry Division, which documents the state’s largest tree species. Currently, there are more than 219 champion and co-champion trees in 91 different genera within the state. Thirty-one of these trees are on the national register. Click here to learn more about Tennessee Champion Trees.
Tennessee Landmark and Historic Tree Registry
This registry recognizes noteworthy trees or groves for their significance to Tennessee communities, the state, and the nation. A Landmark Tree must be commonly recognized as an established and familiar feature of the community, confirmed as a significant part of the community's heritage, or planted to commemorate special events or community leaders more than 50 years ago. A Historic Tree must have been a direct witness to a historic event or cultural movement that was significant nationally, regionally, or within the state and confirmed to date to that time.
The only tree in Chattanooga on the state Landmark and Historic Tree Register is the Bonnie Oaks Willow Oak (Quercus phellos), which sits on property owned by the Hamilton County Parks Department located at 6183 Adamson Circle off I-75 exit 7B. This historic tree dates back prior to the 1854 Bonnie Oaks Orphanage, which was originally established to teach agrarian skills to children and included a working farm.
The Tennessee Heritage Tree List recognizes trees that would qualify for the Landmark and Historic Tree Registry but died before it was created or were on the registry but have since died. Their contribution to the history and heritage of Tennessee deserves preserving.
The Tennessee Landmark and Historic Tree Register is an ongoing program that accepts new nominations through June 1 of each year. Click here to learn more about these noteworthy trees or to download a nomination form.
The National Register of Big Trees
American Forests has maintained a list of the biggest trees in America for 70 years. The 2011 National Register of Big Trees represents more than 660 species, with a total of 751 grand champion trees in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Trees are ranked by total points based on the following formula: Circumference (inches) + Height (feet) + ¼ Crown Spread (feet). The tree with the most total points is crowned the national champion.
California has the two biggest trees on the register: the General Sherman, a giant sequoia that measures 275 feet tall with a 1,400-ton trunk, and the Lost Monarch, located in the Grove of the Titans at the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Tennessee has just 12 trees on this year’s National Register of Big Trees. Chattanooga and Hamilton County do not have any trees on the register.
To nominate a tree for the National Register of Big Trees, visit the American Forests website.
Chattanoogans are fortunate to share the landscape with a variety of big trees, many of which have witnessed centuries of change to the landscape and community. It is up to us to recognize and register these living testaments to time and preserve their stories for future generations to enjoy.
Updated @ 8:06 a.m. on 10/10/2011 to correct the height of the General Sherman sequoia to 275 feet tall.
Jenni Frankenberg Veal enjoys writing about the natural world and the people who work to protect it. She is rarely found without her daughters and a pair of shoes appropriate for hiking and rock-hopping in creeks. Visit her blog at YourOutdoorFamily.com.
