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GeerCrest Orchard Dedicated as Oregon Heritage Trees

Posted on: October 12th, 2018 in News & Press |

On Friday, October 19, 2018, the Oregon Heritage Tree Program dedicated the GeerCrest Orchard as new Oregon Heritage Trees in Salem.
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 a diverse native population including the Kalapuyan, …

Yang Madrone Dedicated as an Oregon Heritage Tree

Posted on: June 27th, 2018 in News & Press |

News Release from The Travel Information Council
On Friday, July 13, 2018, the Oregon Heritage Tree Program dedicated the Yang Madrone as a new heritage tree in Corvallis, Oregon.
The large Pacific Madrone tree overlooking the Yang house was planted by Hoya Yang to complement the house his wife, Edith Yang, designed. In 1954, Edith became the first female minority architect licensed in Oregon. She designed many buildings in the area …

GeerCrest Orchard

Posted on: April 18th, 2018 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 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 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 …

Joel Perkins

Posted on: February 23rd, 2018 in Historical Marker Details |

Joel Perkins was 23 years old when he and several relatives traveled the Oregon Trail from Indiana in 1844. He quickly settled a land claim and, in December 1846, established the town of Lafayette, which the Oregon Provisional Government recognized as Yamhill County’s first county seat. Perkins made himself the town’s clerk, and when he officially platted it in 1849, he donated a full block to be used as the …

Triple Nickles

Posted on: January 4th, 2018 in Historical Marker Details |

Formed in 1943, the all-Black 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion was the first opportunity for African American officers and enlisted men to become paratroopers in the segregated US Army during World War II.
Balloon Bomb Blazes
In 1944-45, Japan launched balloon bombs eastward across the Pacific to set US west coast forests ablaze and cause civilian panic. In May 1945, the military ordered the “Triple Nickles” on a classified mission, code named “Operation …

Grove of the States dedicated as Oregon Heritage Trees on their 50th Anniversary

Posted on: September 8th, 2017 in News & Press |

On August 28 2017, the Oregon Heritage Tree Program celebrated the induction of Oregon’s Grove of the States, a historic arboretum containing trees for each US state and the District of Columbia.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, ODOT director Matt Garrett and members of the Oregon Travel Information Council joined the Oregon Heritage Tree Committee to commemorate the day and induct the Grove as Heritage Trees. The local Boy Scout Troop …

Oregon Heritage Tree Advocate Paul Reis Honored

Posted on: April 5th, 2017 in News & Press |

The Oregon Heritage Tree Program awarded 2017 Maynard C. Drawson Memorial Award to educator and arborist Paul Ries. Ries will receive a plaque recognizing his contributions to preserving Oregon’s notable trees.
Ries was a founding member of the Oregon Heritage Tree Program and personal friend to Maynard Drawson. Drawson is considered to be the founding father of the program; the award was created in 2015 as a way to honor his …

Grove of the States

Posted on: March 30th, 2017 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 …