Bush butternut tree

The Bush butternut tree was a butternut tree in Tumwater, Washington, planted in 1845 by George Washington Bush, an African-American veteran of the War of 1812 who became a pioneer of the Puget Sound region and founder of the city of Tumwater.[2] The tree was thought to be the oldest butternut in the United States and possibly the oldest in the world.[3][4][5] Historians are divided on whether Bush brought a seed or seedling with him from Missouri in the United States to the Puget Sound area, then in Oregon Country.[6]

Bush butternut
SpeciesButternut (Juglans cinerea)
LocationTumwater, Washington, United States
Coordinates46°58′05″N 122°52′55″W
Date seeded1845 (1845) (planted)
CustodianRay Gleason (arborist)[1]
Websitebushprairiefarm.com

The original tree stood on Bush's homestead, now Bush Prairie Farm[4] and a land trust, near Olympia Airport. It was seriously damaged in a windstorm in 2015, and collapsed on May 1, 2021 at the age of 176 years.[7]

In 2009, a tree grown from a seed of the original tree was planted on the Washington State Capitol campus in Olympia, Washington.[8][2] Another was planted at Washington State University in Eastern Washington in 2014.[5] Another was planted in Centralia, Washington, in 2017, commemorating its founder George Washington, another African-American settler, and his namesake President George Washington.[1]

References
  1. Brian Mittge (November 17, 2017), "History Takes Root: Tree Sapling From Pioneer George Bush Planted at Fort Borst Park", The Chronicle, Centralia, Washington
  2. Historic campus tree to be treated for pest, Washington State Department of Enterprise Services, March 21, 2016
  3. "Historic Bush butternut tree damaged by weekend windstorm", The Olympian, Olympia, Washington, September 1, 2015
  4. Bush Prairie Farm – now protected forever, Capitol Land Trust, August 23, 2017
  5. "Tree planting at WSU will end with a bang", WSU News (blog), Pullman, Washington: Washington State University, April 17, 2014
  6. "Sapling or seed - how did the Butternut tree arrive in Tumwater?", George Washington Bush - Washington State Pioneer (Online document), Washington Secretary of State
  7. "When a Tree Falls in the Forest of Time". www.chronline.com. 2021-05-07.
  8. John Dodge (April 2, 2009), "Sapling of historic tree joins Capitol landscape", Bend Bulletin, Bend, Oregon
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