Chestnuts - What Was Lost May Come Again

Restoring the
King of the Forest
to
Eastern Woodlands
“That which may be found in what is lost,
Trumbull Stickney, from
…may come back again….” “Chestnuts in November”
The mighty American chestnut
giants before the blight
125 year old, blight free American
Chestnuts in Sherwood, OR are
symbols of what may come again.
Wildlife may forage again on
American chestnuts.
Chestnuts were an important wildlife food
source for turkey, ruffed grouse, black bear
and many other animals for millennia.
Native Americans know the loss of the American
chestnut— they were one with the earth.
Gathering Chestnuts
painting by Ernest Smith
Bark Covered Lodge
Illustration by Botanist William Bartram
Native Americans used American chestnut logs
to make dugout canoes.
Source of picture:
http://www.wcu.edu/library/DigitalCollections/CraftRevival/storyo
conaluftee_today.html.
Native Americans used chestnuts.
Dried chestnuts were ground into
flour.
Picture is from the Jim Cherry collection.
Native Americans used chestnuts as a
staple in their diets.
Picture is of ingredients used to make Cherokee
chestnut corn bread by Doug Gillis
Native Americans used chestnut leaves
and other parts of the chestnut tree for
medicinal purposes.
European explorers found
chestnuts in the New World.
“Where there be
Mountaines, there be
chestnuts: they are
somewhat smaller than the
chestnuts of Spaine”
A proposed route for the for the de Soto Expedition
of 1539 to 1541
(Route based on Charles M. Hudson map of 1997)
Quote believed to be first
recorded mention of American
chestnut trees .
How far did American chestnuts range in the 1500’s?
Further than depicted
The range of greatest
dominance in the United States
stretched from Maine to
Georgia and perhaps into
Ontario and into northern
Florida.
More into the Piedmont
John Lawson reported
chestnuts in Orange County, NC,
well east of the area depicted,
in 1709.
John Lawson, Colonial Explorer, found chestnuts
in the Piedmont of NC
Route through the Carolinas 12/02/1700—02/24/1701
Source: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/6535
The chestnut log cabin pictured was built in
1780 just west of Fort Mill, SC .
Root rot, Phytophthora cinnamomi, devastated
American chestnuts in the Piedmont by the mid 1800’s.
American chestnut trees were logged extensively
Photo courtesy of Great Smoky Mountains National Park Library
American chestnut wood was a source
of tannin extract prior to and after the blight appeared.
Large quantities of Champion Paper and Fiber
Company chestnut extract were shipped to
tanners in domestic and foreign markets.
From The Story of Chestnut Extract, copyright
1937, The Champion Paper and Fiber Company.
Tank cars loaded with
Chestnut Extract.
From The Story of Chestnut Extract,
The Champion Paper and Fiber
Company
Then the chestnut blight struck
American chestnut wood useage
reminds us of what once was.
Gaither Hall,
Montreat
College, NC,
built 1935-36
Hawthorn Lane
UMC Charlotte,
NC. Vaulted
ceiling, built
1916
First Baptist
Churc h,
Asheville, NC,
carved
chestnut
wood doors
Chestnut wood
Communion
Table used by
Billy Graham
and Ruth Bell
Graham
We can find chestnut wood projects built by
the Civil Conservation Corps.
Trail shelter near Craggy Gardens
built of chestnut timbers by the CCC
in the 1930’s.
Picture from
http://www.hikewnc.info/gallery/craggygardens-hike/cgshelter
The lodge at Big Meadows Camp
Ground on the Skyline Driveway in
VA was built by the CCC. Chestnut
wood was used extensively in its
construction.
Chestnut bark shingles and veneers remind
us of the tree.
American chestnut bark, perhaps 90
years old. Well preserved in the
interior of All Saints Chapel, Linville,
NC
Chestnut veneer, rarely seen,
used in the finish of Hawthorne
Lane United Methodist Church in
Charlotte, NC.
More about chestnut bark shingles
Henry Bacon designed the Lincoln Memorial and created the
rustic chestnut bark shingle architecture of Linville, NC.
All Saints Episcopal Church,
Linville, NC
The Lincoln Memorial
Musical instruments crafted from
chestnut wood remind us.
Music of the earth captured by
Appalachian craftsmen
Native American wood flute by Danny Bigay
and Kay Littlejohn of Mountain Spirit Flutes,
Greenville, TN
Piano case
framed using
chestnut wood
A chestnut dulcimer and chestnut guitar.
(Photo by Robin Acciardo.)
American chestnut
art helps us
remember.
Note the work of Martha Tree.
Poets and writers remind us of chestnuts.
Sketch of the Village Blacksmith’s Shop
”…under the spreading [horse]
chestnut tree….”
From the Maine Memory Network, illustration
contributed by the Longfellow National Historic
Site
An American chestnut tree,
planted in 1905, growing at
Bridgeport Elementary School
in Tualatin, OR
Spending time in a chestnut log cabin
reminds us of the tree.
Log Cabin, circa
1790, near Creston, NC, uses a
mix of chestnut and poplar logs
Chestnut wood paneling was used
when additions were made in the
late 1800’s.
Current day chestnuts roasters remind
us of what may return.
Roasted Chestnuts , tempera on
panel by Andrew Wythe
Chestnut Roaster Sakshi Gatenbein ,
Asheville, NC
When it comes to American chestnuts,
what is your story?
From where did your passion for the American
chestnut come?
Glen Gillis, born in Madison
County, NC on 07/03/1913, at 10
years of age. He knew the
American chestnut.
He paneled the den of the family
home in wormy chestnut wood
harvested near his birthplace.
Tell your story to your children and
grandchildren. Be passionate.
Glen Gillis told his
children we are
related to Daniel
Boone.
June and Francis Boone , caretakers of two
American chestnut trees in Sherwood, OR
invited Doug into their home.
Doug stands between the two iconic
American chestnut trees the Boones take
care of.
Much work is ongoing to restore the American
chestnut to eastern woodlands.
Judy Coker , backcross chestnut
orchard grower, Cataloochee Ranch,
Maggie Valley, NC
Joe James works to develop a root rot,
blight resistant American type chestnut
tree, Seneca, SC
Phytophthora cinnamomi research
is underway in Seneca, SC.
Chestnut Return Farms is located
near Seneca, SC
Dr. Joe James (kneeling) and
Research Team Members
from Clemson University
Youth are the future of the restoration
of the American Chestnut
Nolan planting a chestnut
at the Pryor Farm in
Edneyville, NC, 2005
Nolan in 2009 standing
beside a tree he helped
plant.
Steve Barilovits IV, once
youngest member, now a
regular intern with TACF
Ilona Stanback, helping
Elementary school children
inoculate a tree in the
helping with a ceremonial
Newfound Mt. Orchard, NC. planting at DSB Garden
Dedicated Employees and Volunteers
Make the Difference
Kenneth and Patricia Summerville
set up two American chestnut
tables and a chair he built and
dedicated to TACF for use at the
Glenn C. Price lab.
Mila, Organizer of the Southwest VA
Restoration Branch Event, May 2010,
looks on as Barbara Kingsolver talks about
the importance of the American chestnut
tree and its restoration.
Thumbs up to Chestnut Restoration!
Thanks to all who help with the process.