Heritage Tree Details Archives - Oregon Travel Information Council

GeerCrest Orchard

Posted on: April 18th, 2018 by Annie Von Domitz in Heritage Tree Details |

Location: GeerCrest Farm, Salem, Oregon
Species: Varied, including 24 pear trees, four plum trees, one apple, one Hawthorn tree, one butternut tree, and one hickory tree
Date Planted: approx. 1847
The year 1837 saw the beginnings of mass immigration to the Willamette Valley from the Eastern United States. The Willamette Valley, described to Americans in the East as an “Eden of the West,” had been shaped by millennia of active land management by …

Yang Madrone

Posted on: April 18th, 2018 by Annie Von Domitz in Heritage Tree Details |

Species: Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii)
Circumference: 23feet
Height: approx. 68 feet
Crown spread: 70 feet
Age: 65+ years
The large Pacific madrone tree overlooking the Yang house was designated a City of Corvallis Heritage Tree in 2016. It is said by the Corvallis City forester to be the largest madrone in Corvallis, and the second largest madrone in Benton County; the largest being in an inaccessible rural area.
The tree is located at a house designed …

McCall Magnolia

Posted on: April 18th, 2018 by Annie Von Domitz in Heritage Tree Details |

Species: Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
Planted: 1890
Circumference: 90 inches
Height: approx. 50 feet
Crown spread: 50 feet

The McCall Magnolia was planted in 1890 in front of the renowned home of John M. and Mary Elizabeth McCall in memory of John’s daughter Elsie, who died in 1890. While a Southern Magnolia’s life span can be greater than 100 years, it is rare that this species can thrive in this climate for so many years. Recent …

Grove of the States

Posted on: March 30th, 2017 by Annie Von Domitz in Heritage Tree Details |

In 1967 Oregon Attorney General Robert Y. Thornton hosted the 61st annual conference of the National Association of Attorneys General in Portland. As part of a conference event, Thornton planned for the Grove of the States as an homage to First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, and her work fostering the 1965 Highway Beautification Act. The First Lady pushed hard for freeway right-of-ways filled with green landscaping and wildflowers instead of …

Huntington Wagon Road Junipers

Posted on: March 30th, 2017 by Annie Von Domitz in Heritage Tree Details |

Shaggy bark from Western Juniper

J.W. P. Huntington

The Target Tree, one of the Junipers in the Grove.

Following the line of a very old Native American Trail, the Huntington Wagon Road was marked by J.W. Petit Huntington in 1864 as a route between The Dalles and Fort Klamath. When the road was firmly established, it was used by prospectors, homesteaders, soldiers, and tradesman. Warm Springs Indian scouts frequently used the road in …

Drake Ponderosa Pine Grove

Posted on: March 30th, 2017 by Annie Von Domitz in Heritage Tree Details |

A.M. Drake original homestead lodge and several of the Ponderosa Pines

Plaque marking the area of the A.M. Drake Homestead

Pinecone from the Ponderosa Pine

A.M. and Florence Drake arrived in Central Oregon in June 1900. As they made their way through the homeland of the Northern Paiute tribes and alongside the Deschutes River in a covered wagon, the Drakes stopped to assess their surroundings and make camp. It is reported the couple butted …

Coquille Myrtle Grove

Posted on: November 7th, 2016 by Annie Von Domitz in Heritage Tree Details |

This grove of trees was protected by the Garden Club of Oregon and given to the People of Oregon in 1949. The Garden Club started many conservation projects including Operation Wildflower on state highways, “Don’t Be a LitterBug!” campaign. The Oregon Myrtle is a highly valued evergreen hardwood that has played a significant role in Oregon’s coastal economies. The site is now owned by State Parks as the Coquille Myrtlewood Wayside …

Lee Oak Tree

Posted on: April 11th, 2016 by Annie Von Domitz in Heritage Tree Details |

The Lees and their seven children arrived in the Willamette Valley in 1848. In 1850, they took advantage of the Donation Land Claim Act to gain title to their 611 acres in what is now known as Canby.
The oak tree the family planted sits on the site of the family’s third home, which was constructed by carpenters with the Oregon and California Railroad in 1869. When Lee died in 1887, …

Aurora Colony Black Walnut

Posted on: October 31st, 2014 by Annie Von Domitz in Heritage Tree Details |

Aurora Colony Black Walnut

Aurora Colony Black Walnut leaves

Heritage Tree Committee members, Nancy and Ed, admire the historic walnut from the balcony of the Christian Zimmerman House

Aurora Colony Black Walnut
(Juglans nigra)
This black walnut, was planted by the Zimmerman family sometime around 1884. The Zimmerman’s were prominent members of the Aurora Colony, a religious community led by Dr. William Keil, that immigrated to this location from Bethel, Missouri. David Zimmerman was a …

R.V. Short Fir

Posted on: October 31st, 2014 by Annie Von Domitz in Heritage Tree Details |

R.V. Short Fir
(Pseudotsuga menziesii)
This Douglas fir stands on the Donation Land Claim of Robert Valentine Short, a prominent land surveyor in the mid 1800’s. R.V. Short arrived in Oregon in 1847, when he was hired on a wagon train in the command of General Joel Palmer. R.V. opened up a tailor shop in Oregon City, but switched to surveying as his skills were soon in demand. He was hired to …