100+ Year Old Copper Beech Tree Enters History at Jay House
(PHOTO: The copper beech tree, fagus sylvatica, believed to date to the 1880s, entered the history books this week at the Jay House.)
The towering copper beech that stood in front of the John Jay house on Boston Post Road for nearly one and one half centuries entered the history books this week. This magnificent specimen retired on the early side. Copper beech trees live, on average, 150-200 years, with some making the three century mark, according to Wikipedia.
The Jay House copper beach had a borer insect which brought it down. "We are incredibly sad to lose that gorgeous witness to history. The tree dated back to the 1880s or so. It had a borer which we had been unable to treat. The borer made the limbs spongy and last year they started to fall off rapidly," said Suzanne Clary, president of the Board of Trustees for the Jay Heritage Center. "It is with great regret that we took the remainder down this week for safety."
(PHOTO: The weakened giant was finally brought down for safety reasons.)
While there is sadness in losing anything so majestic, the good new is Jay Heritage continues to raise funds to replant the grounds – flowers for the gardens, daffodils and wildflowers for the meadow and historic trees including new beech trees and Liberty elms.
On Thursday (April 20, 2017) from 6pm – 8:30pm interested tree donors can join the Daffodil Cocktail Party and New York State Wine Tasting. You can purchase tickets starting at $25.
(PHOTO: The good old days.)
Jay thank you for this lovely tribute to our “majestic” beech. It was the last of three to succumb including two in the meadow. We are looking forward to replanting several of these specimen trees on the grounds for future generations to enjoy.
I believe we have an 1870’s-ish copper beech tree here in Clinton Ma at the Clinton Senior Center still standing tall and strong! I am in LOVE with this tree! So sad to see the one at John Jay House had to be cut down!