A compilation of Historic and anecdotal reports of Eastern White Pine over 200 feet high, or containing large diameters and extraordinary lumber volumes, circa 18th to 20th century.
Old Growth White Pine Forests, c. 19th century.
Update: 1/15/2020, I will be adding more accounts in following weeks and months. All heights below are “as is”, as this is a project of ongoing investigation, early reports of fallen trees measured on the ground by tape line, chains, rods, and rule sticks by first person observers such as Foresters, mill men, and credible scientists & surveyors of the day, or which have been vetted by 2 or more credible witnesses, I find to be of potential high credibility. My preliminary findings suggest that some stands of Eastern White Pine were averaging over 200 feet in height in the Eastern & N. Eastern U.S. and Ontario, Canada before the year 1900, reaching impressive diameters often over 5 to 7 feet, and contained individual specimen which may have rivaled the highest recorded Western White Pines and its cousin, the Sugar Pine. Heights of 220 to 270+ ft potentially having been reached in the very tallest ones. In aggregating about 70 historic height reports, and 52 listed diameters from the reports below, the mean average of this Historical superlative series is approximately 218 ft tall over a 6.27 ft diameter at stump. Diameters ranged from 2 to 12 ft, and heights from 150 to 288 ft.
- John Maude in the year 1800, visited Niagara, NY and Bath, Mud Creek, and Bartle’s mill. Trees were over 200 feet in length. Mr Bartle measured one, when a log, that was 202 ft long, white pine.
Visit to the Falls of Niagara in 1800 By John Maude · 1826
- Dr Timothy Dwight, a former president of Yale College, recalls a Pine 247 feet long measured by Mr. Law of Meredith, Ny. c. 1804, and estimates standing timber 200 feet, near Unadilla, Ny.
- Granby, Oswego Co. Ny, pine in 1829 on land of Charles Chapman, cut by Addison & James Saterlee and George Green, who aver to the dimensions: 4 ft above ground 7.5 ft diam, at 22 ft, 6 ft diam, 90 ft to first limb, and 220 feet to top branch. Another tree near this, wind fallen, not as great in diameter as the last tree, was measured by George Kellogg of Granby, who carefully measured the prostrate tree at 14 rods in length, or 231 feet.
Country Gentleman, Volumes 11-12, 1858
- Camillus, Onandaga Co, NY, 1860. On land owned by Wheeler Truesdell, A Pinus Strobus measured 230 feet long as it lay, another nearby gave 154 feet of saw logs.
- A very detailed measurement by a scientific observer: Between Albany NY, and Killington, Shrewsbury mountains, Vermont in 1853. A prostrate Pine tree 235 feet long to a decayed top- which traced out even further than that. 17 ft 3 circumference at the base, 2 feet diameter 165 ft from base, it was measured by early Meteorologist and instrument maker, Joel W. Andrews.
- Carroll, Chatauqua Co. Ny, 1840 on farm of George W Fenton, a Pine cut 13-sixteen ft logs + one 12 ft, it’s height was estimated at over 250 feet.
History of Chautauqua County, New York … By Obed Edson, 1894
- Another Pine at Carroll, Ny in 1857 that was 180 feet, cut 9 logs 16 ft, and one 12 ft.
The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, January 29, 1857, Image 1
- A Pine, in Kiantone, Ny measured 22 ft circumference, and yet another Pine in French Creek, was 27 ft circumference, and nearly 200 ft tall. It was not Uncommon for single pines to scale 5,000 feet. Single acres of Pines would sometimes yield 100,000 feet.
History of Chautauqua County, New York … By Obed Edson, 1894
- At Kiantone Ny, 1854 Charles Spencer cut a pine which had 8 logs sixteen ft, and six logs 12 ft, besides top and stump. In 1860, another Pine was cut upon the same lot that was 7 ft diameter at stump, and 6 ft diameter 60 ft from trunk, it was sawed at Warner’s saw mill at Jamestown and produced 13,300 ft.
History of Chautauqua County, New York … By Obed Edson, 1894
- Chautauqua Co., Cassadega creek Ny, c. 1865. A Pine on the property of J.E. Almy was cut down and measured upwards of 200 feet in length upon the ground, it was described as 5.5 feet diameter, and the stump was nearly six feet in diameter, and Other stumps nearby were 4.5 feet diam. According to Dr Frederick Larkin, and Mr Bugbee, 800 annual rings could readily be counted on the stump, not including a large number obliterated by decay.
History of Chautauqua County, New York … By Obed Edson, 1894
- Randolph, Cattaraugus Co, Ny c. 1830, some Pines on the flats measured 225 feet. Others were said to reach 300 ft.
History of Chautauqua County, New York … By Obed Edson, 1894
History of Chautauqua County, New York … By Obed Edson, 1894
- Other reports around Randolph, and Conewango, Cattaraugus co. of trees 230 feet tall.
- Cold Spring, Cattaraugus Co. Ny, 1830s-1840s the area was originally covered with fine growth of timber, some pines more than 200 feet in length.
History of Cattaraugus County, New York By Franklin Ellis, 1879
- Crystal Spring, Yates Co. NY 1881, a nearly 200 ft White Pine, 13 ft circumference, scaled 4,000 feet. 315 rings on the trunk.
Vermont phœnix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, April 01, 1881, Image 1
- AN 18-LOG PINE [New Russia, NY]
A monster pine, a regular monarch of the forest, was recently cut by J. M. Barnet & Co., on their job in New Russia. From this stately tree, measuring fifty-four inches on the stump, no less than eighteen logs were cut. It is probably one of the largest, if not the largest, pine ever cut in the Adirondacks.
Ticonderoga Sentinel, September 20, 1917
From the Archives: A Look Back on Essex County History for Sept. 15-30
- Poland, Chautauqua Co., Ny . c. early 1800s. It is said that a surveyor, Mr. Cheney, stretched his chain on a fallen pine 268 feet in length, each time he travled between Kiantone to Kennedy, Ny. Many of the Pines measured 5 to 6 feet diameter, “Poland Quality” in Lumber, was the standard.
History of Chautauqua County, New York … By Obed Edson, 1894
- Chautauqua Co. Ny, c. early 1800s. A dense Pine forest 12 miles square (12 miles on each side) once covered the S.E. corner of this county, at the present towns of Carroll, Poland, Ellicott, Kiantone, Jamestown and Busti. Trees grew straight and towered 80 to 100 feet without a limb, 3 to 5 feet in diameter and often more, and grew to a height of 150 and even 200 feet.
Page 123
“Lumbering was the leading industry in the south-eastern part of the county. Thickly scattered over the hills, and more abundantly gathered along the streams’ and lowlands in this part of the county, grew that majestic and use- ful forest tree, the white or Weymouth Pine. These trees grew tall and straight eighty or one hundred feet without a limb, then sending out a few branches, they formed a tufted top ; they towered far above the surround- ing forest. At maturity they were three to five feet in diameter, often more. They grew to the height of one hundred and fifty and even two hundred feet. The lumber manufac- tured from the white pine was most beautiful in appearance and excellent in quality. These pine trees grew in all the towns south of the Ridge, but more abundantly in the southeastern ones. A dense pine forest twelve miles square, covered Carroll, Poland, Elli- cott and Kiantone, the site of James- town and part of Busti. These mon- archs of the woods have now nearly disappeared, and in a few years no ves- tige will remain. Soon there will be no one living who has seen this majes- tic forest of pines, which once stood.”
- Cuba, Allegany Co, Ny, 1837. A Pine produced 18 mill logs ; 9 of 12 feet, and 9 of 16 ft.
Niles’ National Register: Containing Political, Historical …, Volume 51
- in 1902, Occasional white Pine in NY state are said to have been 255 ft, and 80″ in diam, and many NY lumbermen still living, recall giant White Pines that measured 7 ft across the stumps and over 220 in height. Another report that the 255′ tree was 125 to first branch, and felled in the Conewango swamp lands, according to records from Albany.
A History of the Lumber Industry in the State of New York By William Freeman Fox, 1902
White Men Came to the St. Lawrence: The French and the Land They Found, 1961
- Fairhaven, Rutland Co, Ny. about 1800, some of the trees were 200 feet tall, and were over 400 rings old.
Proceedings of the Rutland County Historical Society, Volume 1 By Rutland County Historical Society
- Dr. Franklin Benjamin Hough, first chief of the United States Forestry Division, wrote in the First Report on Forestry in 1878 that a White Pine in Jefferson County, near “Pine Plains” at the Black River, at the town of Rutland, Ny, once grew in the shelter of the hills, and measured 288-3/4 feet in height.
Report on Forestry, Volume 1 By United States. Forest Service, 1878 pg. 454
- A large Pine tree 175 feet in length, 18 feet in circumference, and 65 feet to first limb, cut down in Greene Co. NY, in May 1902.
“A Noble Pine.– A large pine tree on the Pratt Stock Farm, Greene County, NY that many have heard about and numbers have traveled far to see, was recently cut says the Oak Hill Record. It was struck by lightning two years ago and last fall the top died. The lightning did not damage or shatter the main trunk. The entire length was about 175 feet; at the stump It was 18 feet around; three ordi nary persons could nicely reach around it. Sixty-five feet from the stump where the first limb was, the trunk was over three feet in diameter and nearly 10 feet in circumference. Counting the rings on the stump we found the tree to be about 285 years old. This country was but thinly settled when the tree made a start in the world, and now the monarch of the forest lies low. This tree will be cut into eight foot logs and quartered, then sawed into 16-Inch blocks and made into shaved shingles. This was undoubtedly the largest tree in this sec-tion of the country.”
The Country Gentleman – Volume 67 – Page 375, 1902
- Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire 1770-1780
Rev. Wheelock, Mcclure, Lord and others who founded Dartmouth college record 270 and 230 ft long pines. White Pines grew especially along the river and valley of Mink Brook. These were often of great size and height, a hundred feet or more to the first limb, and it was not unusual that four trees could be felled in such a way to fence an acre, one on each side of a tract.
The Geology of New Hampshire: (pt. I)
- First hand account by David Mcclure, friend of Rev. Wheelock from Dartmouth, who measured one of those pines which was 270 ft long from butt to top. The site was an unbroken forest of enormous pines one of which Rev David McClure DD says that he himself measured and found it 270 feet from the butt to the top. On the first cleared area of 6 acres it is said that the felled trees covered the ground 5 feet high and the standing trees shut off the sun till it was far up above the horizon.
- Whitefield, New Hampshire, 1872 William Quimby had a pine tree 21 ft circumference, and 100 ft to first limb, which contained estimated 7,000 feet of sound lumber.
Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, June 10, 1872, Image 3
- Coos County.- The New Hampshire Board of Agriculture at a session held at Whitefield in December 1873 visited a lumber camp in this county the report of which has facts of interest in forestry. Attention was called to a white pine over 4 feet in diameter and 200 feet or more high said to be worth over $1,000 on the stump. Many trees were worth from $100 to $500 each. The growth was principally hemlock pine and spruce and would yield in some instances 150,000 feet or more per acre. The average cost when purchased was $11. The company whose works they visited owned 30,000 acres mostly still covered with forest and had built some dozen miles of railroad into the heart of the woods using the ordinary T-rail. (Fourth Report NH Board of Agriculture, p. 54.)
Report on Forestry, Volume 1 By United States. Forest Service, 1878 pg. 402
- Dr Timothy Dwight mentions a report from Lancaster, New Hampshire from a man who had seen a pine 264 feet in length.
Travels in New-England and New-York, Volume 1 By Timothy Dwight, 1821
- In the vicinity of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, according to John Elwyn, Esq. a Pine tree was cut down some years ago which measured two hundred feet in height.
- Jay, Vermont 1860, M.E Doubleday cut 250 ft of logs from a pine:
Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, November 30, 1860, Image 2
- Coventry, Vermont 1891. 18 logs from a Pine tree, 17 were 12 feet, last was 9 ft long.
Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, February 05, 1891, Page 4, Image 4
- East Jamaica, Vermomt 1901,cut by E.M. Butler, 17 logs, all but 2 were 12 feet long.
4 ft diameter 3,409 ft.
Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, March 02, 1901, Image 2
- Big Pine, St Johnsbury, Vermont. 7 ft diameter, 4 ft diameter 58 ft from stump 1886.
Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, March 15, 1886, Image 3
- Battleboro, Vermont. 5-1/2 ft diamter, 172 ft tall pine. 6031 ft of lumber. 1888.
News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. 😉 1881-current, February 23, 1888, Image 2
- Barton, Vermont 1914, N.B. Dunham cut a pine 3 ft diam, and fifteen 12 ft logs.
Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, March 25, 1914, Page PAGE 5, Image 5
- Peru, Vermont 1891, The workmen of J.J. Hapgood & Co. cut nineteen 12 ft logs, plus one 8 ft from the body of a single pine.
The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, February 19, 1891, Image 4
- West Townsend, Vermont, a Pine cut sixteen logs in 1907.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, January 30, 1907, Page 7, Image 7
- Ashley Mountain, Connecticut, 1877. 21 logs, making 216 feet of Pine tree. Tree girthed 14 ft 9 circ.
- A Pine tree in Pennsylvania made 17 logs, 12 to 16 feet, and 8,033 board feet. top end of the Butt log was 58 inches diameter. 1892:
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, March 03, 1892, Page 4, Image 4
- Pine tree cut 15 logs, which were 12 to 20 ft. 8,999 board feet. Pennsylvania 1897:
The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, June 30, 1897, Image 4
- Pine tree at Equinunk, Pennsylania 1865. fifty logs?!! 13,900 board feet!
The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, March 09, 1865, Image 2
- Monster pine in pennsylania, 1867, 5 logs 16 ft. 5,000 feet. 41 to 33″ dbh for logs:
The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, March 05, 1867, Image 3
- Camp Fox, Pennsylvania, 1880. Pine tree cut 19 logs, 16 feet long. tree had five forks, and was 6 feet diameter at the butt: [Note: multiple forks, could yield many more logs!]
The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, July 15, 1880, Image 3
- Cambria Co, Pennsylvania 1883. 166 feet of logs, from 1 pine:
The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, March 14, 1883, Image 3
- A Pine in Somerset Co, Penn. 1895 cut thirty logs, 8 to 16 ft long – had nine prongs (reiterations). Stump 6 feet diameter:
The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, November 29, 1895, Image 3
- McKean County Penn. 1880, 175 foot tall pines were cut on land of Judge Witmore, and often these trees yielded nine 16 ft logs.
The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, November 25, 1880, Image 2
- Centre County, Penn. 1898, a Pine 176.5 feet tall, 5 ft 5 in. diameter, and 90 ft from butt to the forking of the branches was cut by Adam Zerbe, at Sober.
- A Big tree in Sullivan Co. Penn, 1888. It scaled 14 logs, and 13,179 ft. 84 feet to first branch, and 7 feet 8 inches diameter:
The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, March 09, 1888, Image 3
- A Pine tree felled on John Dubois lands Clearfield, Co. Penn 1871 had seventeen 16 ft logs! 7,200 board feet.
Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, March 29, 1871, Image 2
The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, March 21, 1871, Image 2
- On Sandy-lick neck, Pennsylvania, circa 1843 was a pine 12 feet in diameter, and at 12 feet from the ground it divided into branches.
The Farmers’ Cabinet, and American Herd-book, Volume 7, 1843
- Cedar Run, Lycoming Co, Penn. Mammoth White Pine – c. 1889, 12 ft diameter, 200 ft tall. A white pine located on Robert Wolf’s job near the mouth of Cedar Run, Lycoming County, the finest white pine tree standing in Pennsylvania. Its diameter breast-high was 12 feet, and it was 200 feet in height, perfectly straight and sound, estimated to contain 6,500 feet below the branches. A log 105 feet long was cut from it, and sent to Philadelphia for a parade. Mr. Martz confirmed the stump was still present as of 1926.
- Col. Shoemaker states that in 1908 he saw a White Pine of similar diameter standing close to Gotshall’s Run, Clinton County. However, storm had broken off its top 70 feet from the ground.
- Thomas G. Simcox, an old timber cruiser, said it was second only to one other white pine in Clinton County, which was called the Grandfather Pine, and was 360 feet* high, and once stood at the mouth of Schwenk’s Gap, Sugar Valley, Clinton County.
*”The Grandfather Pine”, of Sugar Valley, according to local historian and folklorist Col. Henry W Shoemaker, was a well known pine to the settlers of Clinton County, Pennsylvania. This legendary mammoth tree, famous to the Indians and pioneers alike, was said to stand nearly twice as tall as the surrounding forest. It was cut around 1875 by Mike Courtney who was woodsman of Ario Pardee’s lumber interests. The tree was reportedly felled by Mike Courtney, Henry Mark, Jake Karstetter, and Henry Wren who cut the tree 9 feet off the ground with a large crosscut saw and axes. Shoemaker credits a more authentic height of 260 feet (269 ft with butt height added), from the butt to the top, as measured by Henry Wren, one of the cutters. The giant tree reportedly measured 12 feet in diameter, 9 feet up from the ground. Altoona Tribune Altoona, Pennsylvania 13 Jul 1931, Mon • Page 6
- Another Giant Pine at Little Sugar Valley, not far from Sugar Valley, Clinton Co, Penn. was cut in 1887 by J.H. Maize and John Breon which scaled 5,945 feet, and three men could not reach around the trunk of the tree.
Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, November 17, 1887, Image 3
- On Property of Mr Bell, at the waters of Mahoning, Brady Township, Penn. 1870. Pine tree, which was 21 ft 6 girth, and 11,000 board ft. 18 logs 16 ft, and three 12 ft logs. Totaling 324 log feet!
Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, August 24, 1870, Image 3
- Cameron Co, Pennsylvania 1908, pine tree scaled 10,800 ft, 5 ft diam, and cut 31 logs from 8 to 16 ft long, the total saw logs amount to 394 feet; but the tree was not this tall, for it had 2 forks and 3 branches of immense size. Actual height of tree is not recorded.
Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, May 14, 1908, Image 1
- History of Sheffield Township, Warren Co. Penn. 1830s, report from a sawmill of a Pine that was 23 ft circ. 8 ft from the ground, and another one which made seventeen sawlogs, each 16 ft long.
History of Warren County, Pennsylvania: With Illustrations and Biographical …
- Cook tract, Clarion river, Penn. 1917, some White Pines said to still be 250 ft tall, and 150 to first limb.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, May 09, 1917, Page 10, Image 10
American Forestry, Volume 27 no. 325, Jan. 1921 pg 99
- Pinegrove Township, Pennsylvania. Clapp Estate Sale, 1903. 2000 acres covered in the last tract of White Pines in Pennsylvania not touched by the woodsman’s axe. “There are White Pine trees in this particular tract that will measure seven feet across the stump and which tower 250 feet into the air.”
The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, January 07, 1903, Image 3
- Hooverhurst, Indiana Co. Penn, 1901. A Pine nearly 200 ft tall, 58 in. butt diameter, left standing as a curiosity.
The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, February 13, 1901, Image 3
- Au-Sable River, N. Michigan, in 1890 C.H. Carpenter and A.H. Gifford cut a pine at Vaughan’s camp, 5.5 ft diam at butt, which cut 12, 16 foot logs, the tree being over 200 feet in height and perfectly sound.
Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, January 23, 1890, Image 2
- 1895, Monster pine cut by Spaulding Lumber company Mich. 23 logs x 16 ft, plus 2. 10,000 board feet. 4 ft 8 diam.
The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, February 02, 1895, Image 8
- Clyde, Michigan. 1854, a pine yielded 32 pine logs, and over 13,000 board ft.
Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, May 17, 1854, Image 2
- A Pine giving 19 logs, totaling 254 feet, at Farwell, Michigan 1879:
The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, February 06, 1879, Image 2
Forestry; a journal of forest and estate management, Volume 3, 1880
- Hobart, Mich, 1892 Monster pine 7 ft diam. section sent to Exhibition.
Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, November 04, 1892, Page 4, Image 4
- Alpena, Mich. Giant Pine 9 feet diam. 1883
Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, February 21, 1883, Image 3
- Williams, Bay Co. Michigan, 1868. A pine tree with 24 x 16 ft logs, 10,098 ft.
The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, December 24, 1868, Image 1
- C.W. June cut down a Pine near Evarts, Mich. in 1886, yielding 19 logs, equalling 236 feet of tree.
Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, November 18, 1886, Image 5
- Baraga, Mich. 1903, John Moran cut a pine which made 22 logs ranging 12-16 ft, tree was over 5 ft diam, and scaled over 3,000 ft.
Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, October 28, 1903, Image 2
- Clam Lake, Mich. 1876, 200 ft long Pines furnished spars 175 ft long, with 2 ft diameter butts.
“HIGH TREES. The exact height of our tallest trees in most cases is not known. They are to be found in some congenial spots where the ground is favorable for a thick growth in a slight sag in the ground. At Clam Lake an old lumberman informed me that he could furnish spars of pine 175 feet long and not over two feet through at the butt. He had cut them 200 feet long.”
The Forest Products of Michigan at the Centennial Exposition By William James Beal · 1876 pg 6
- Newaygo, Mich. 1877, a pine tree 14.5 feet girth, and 100 feet to first limb was reported.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, September 07, 1877, Image 3
- The David Ward Estate, in Otsego, Crawford, Kalkaska, and Antrim counties, Michigan had Pine trees 170-185 ft tall, and 5 ft diameter, before c. 1909.
“Before lumbering operations 20,000 acres were covered with a magnificent stand of white pine, and many of the trees were five feet in diameter and 170 to 185 feet in height.”
Michigan Roads and Forests, vol. 5 No. 11 – May 1909 pg 4
- “The tree rarely reaches a height of more than 160 feet and diameters of more than 40 inches more usually 30 inches. Occasionally these dimensions are exceeded ; trees of 200 feet in height and of 60 inches in diameter have been reported. The largest actually measured by the Division of Forestry was 48 inches in diameter breast high and 170 feet in height, with an age of about four hundred and sixty years, containing 738 cubic feet of wood, standing in a group of similarly old and large pines in Michigan. Another tree of this group, with 47 inches diameter and 162 feet in height, contained 855 cubic feet, being less tapered.”
- Antigo, Wisconsin, 1896, a pine 20 ft girth, and 150 ft in length to a 2 ft diam broken top. Full height before the break, was probably 200 ft.
Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, April 14, 1896, Image 5
- Green Bay, Wisconsin, 1876, a pine cut 20 logs 12-18 ft long. scaled 4,205 ft.
The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, January 06, 1876, Image 3
- Large White Pine tree, Chippewa, Yellow river Wisconsin, 1891, yielded 29 logs, measured 5 ft 3 diameter 12 feet up.
The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, February 21, 1891, Image 3
- Another Giant Pine from Chippewa Valley, Wisc. 1898, yielded 14 logs. and 11,620 ft.
- Ontario, Canada. Many Weymouth Pine trees 210 feet long, 5 to 7 ft diameter, and 350 to 425 years old were measured as they lay, in Ontario by James Brown and George Brown, foresters in Ontario c. 1870s-1882. James Brown LL.D., was Forester from Arniston, Scotland, and later Inspector of Woods and Forests, Port Elgin, Canada. His son was George E. Brown, Forester, Cumloden, Newton- Stewart, N.B.
Pinus Strobus, or Weymouth Pine. “In its native habitats this pine grows to very large dimensions. We have measured many of them as they lay felled on the ground and taking a number of them we found the stems average 150 feet long by 2 feet 9 inches diameter at 5 feet up from the bottom. This may be taken as an average of the size of the trees as they stand in their native parts ; but we have found many of them that measured 210 feet long with stems from 5 to 7 feet in diameter at 4 feet up from the bottom and on counting the annular layers on the stumps from which they were cut we found them to range between 350 and 425 which may be taken as representing the years of their age.”
- Ontario White pines, 200 ft were not uncommon, and some 220 ft tall, 120 to first branch and 7 ft diameter recorded 1860s. Near the shores of Lake Erie the larger pines were reported to often reach 60 metres in height and over 150 cm (5 feet) in diameter (Hurlbert, 1862).
- Ontario, Canada c. 1820. Pine tree 180 ft long to burned top 47 inches in circumference at the break, may have been 100 feet higher originally.
“The largest timber, particularly pine, that I have ever seen is from Norwich to Burford. A Pine tree that lay alongside the path I mea-sured–its length 180 feet. Its head or top was burned, the circumference of it was 47 inches, and had the tree been perfect it wd. in all probability be 100 feet more & measure 300 ft. of solid timber.”
- Some White Pines near Ottawa, Ontario c. 1860s were 16 ft circumference and 180 feet tall.
“…Gatineau lie within the pine growing zone and embrace by far the best pine growing forests in the province in extent and in the size and quality of the timber. In the township of Thorne 20, years ago I measured a pine tree 18 feet 4 inches in circumference at 5 feet from the ground, and within sight of the Parliament Hill, Ottawa, I measured some about 16 feet in circumference and 180 feet in height but trees of such girth are scarce.”
- Ontario White Pines, 160 to 190 feet reported.
“Those pine trees in Ontario were of the white variety rather than of the yellow. Their trunks three to six feet in diameter, rose straight and bare for 100 feet or more, the branched top being about one third of the tree’s height. Many of them stood 160 feet, and the tallest reached 180 and 190. They were all solid wood. The soil on which they flourished so was a sandy loam.”
The Mighty Pines. By Ephraim Weber. – The Reality Record and Builder – Volume 10, Issues 17-52, 1903
- Ottawa, Ontario. A section of a White Pine 303 feet tall, and 8 ft 5 inches diameter, 664 rings old cut near Ottawa and displayed at the Canada Log House at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, Philidelphia.
Forestry. A Journal of Forest and Estate,1878 pg. 214
Canada Log House Centennial Exhibition 1876
- William Durkee Williamson, in 1839, lists White Pine at up to 240 feet in Maine, and up to 6 feet at the butt diameter.
The History of the State of Maine: From Its First Discovery, A. D …, Volume 1
- Maine, 1882 forest census said white pine often exceeded 200 ft, and individuals 250 ft. not uncommonly 90 ft to lowest limbs.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, July 16, 1882, Page 6, Image 6
- Androscoggin and Royal’s River, Maine. Col Moses Little in 1768 measured a White Pine log that was 181 feet long, and 12 inches diameter at the small end.
History of Androscoggin County, Maine … edited by Georgia Drew Merrill, 1891
- Liberty, Maine a pine tree 7 ft diam, made 10,610 board ft. circa 1837.
The New England Gazetteer By John Hayward, 1839
- Maine, 1904, record White pine 225 ft tall, 90″ diam. …”white pines attained extraordinary size. (The record tree in Maine, cut in 1904, was 90 inches in diameter and 225 feet tall.) When reports of these giants reached England in the early 1600s, their fate was sealed, and by 1670 thousands were feeding”…
Maine’s Natural Heritage: Rare Species and Unique Natural Features, Dean B. Bennett, 1988 pg. 86
- Bangor, Maine, Pine tree 1888, 254 feet length of logs: 16 x 12 ft, 2 x14 ft, 2×8, and 1x 18 ft log:
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, February 01, 1888, Image 1
- Dunstable, Mass. 1736, 7 feet 8 inches diameter, Pine.
The White Hills: Their Legends, Landscape, and Poetry By Thomas Starr King, 1876
- George Emerson reports that around the year 1800, at Blandford, Mass. Some pines were measured after they were felled, more than 13 rods and a half long, or 223 feet in length.
- Dayville, Mass. 1870. 18 sawlogs, none less than 8 feet.
In the Dayville area the passing of a large pine tree was all the news in late January. “A remarkably large pine tree was cut last week west of this village on land of S. & H. Sayles (owners of Dayville’s woolen mill). It was about 12 feet in circumference, and from it were cut by Mr. Alexander Blanchard, eighteen logs, none less than eight feet long, and all of which will saw into 2000 feet of boards.” (WCTr 2/3/1870).
http://www.theheartofmassachusetts.com/pdf/KIL.2008.07.18.pdf
- Mr. D.E. Hawks of Charlemont, Mass. in 1849, reportedly cut a 300 ft tall Pine tree, containing 22 logs, average log being 12 ft.
“A Large Tree. – Mr. D. E. Hawks, of Charle-mont, cut a Pine tree a short time since, of the following dimensions. It was 7 feet through 10 feet from the stump, and was 5 feet through 50 feet from the stump. Twenty two logs were taken from the tree, the average length of which were 12 feet. Fourteen feet of the tree were spoiled in falling. The extreme length of the tree from the stump to the top twigs, was 300 feet! – Greenfield Gazette.”
Weekly Transcript, North Adams, Mass., Thursday, July 12, 1849
Charlemont, Massachusetts: Frontier Village and Hill Town – Page 126
Allan Healey · 1965
Others include:
247′ Meredith, NY History of the Lumber Industry in the State of New York
250′ Timothy Dwights’ Travels in New England and New York
240′ Dartmouth, NH A Natural History of Trees
260′ Lincoln, NH Forest Giants of the World Past and Present
262′ Forest Giants…
264′ NH. Forest Giants.
GREAT EASTERN TREES, PAST AND PRESENT by Colby B. Rucker, from the Bulletin of The Eastern native Tree Society, Volume 3, Issue 4 7 Fall 2008
New Hampshire: Eastern White Pine. A pine cut long ago on the site of Dartmouth College was said to have been 240′ tall. Although many doubt the species is capable of attaining such a height, the legend has persisted. Reference: Lane, Ferdinand C., 1953. The Story of Trees, pp. 67-68.
New York: Eastern White Pine, It is said that a fallen specimen at Meridith, New York measured 247 feet in length. Reference: American Forests, Spring 2000, p. 38. Comments: No other details are available. No authenticated records indicate that such heights were actually attained.
Pennsylvania: Eastern White Pine. Girth 37 feet, height 200 feet. “Felled near Cedar Run.” Reference: Lane, Ferdinand C., 1953. The Story of Trees, p.67. Comments: Lane gives no other details. The girth seems excessive, even at grade.
Wisconsin: Eastern white pine. A white pine felled near the Flambeau River, in northwest Wisconsin yielded 14 logs that scaled 22,620 board feet. Reference: Stevens Point Journal, 2/26/1898. (courtesy of Paul Jost, 2/16/2004).
Eastern white pine. A white pine near the Plover River, in the Hatley area of Marathon County, was reported to have a circumference of 19′ 6″, and a height of nearly 200 feet. Reference: S. A. Sherman, pioneer lumberman, 1884. (courtesy of Paul Yost, 2/16/2004).
Eastern white pine. A white pine to be cut on the land of Mr. Wadleigh, near Hatley, Marathon County, was said to be the largest in Wisconsin. It was 27 feet in circumference. Reference: Stevens Point Journal, 12/1/1883. (courtesy of Paul Yost, 2/16/2004).
Pacific Forests 