This Monterey pine was planted between 1906 and 1921 by the Simpson family as part of their extensive estate.  Louis J. Simpson was a lumberman, shipbuilder, and founder of the city of North Bend.  In 1942, Simpson sold his estate to Oregon, designating it as a park.  This tree was recognized in 2002 as the largest of its species in the United States by the National Register of Big Trees.

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This Monterey pine was planted between 1906 and 1921 by the Simpson family as part of their extensive estate.  Louis J. Simpson was a lumberman, shipbuilder, and founder of the city of North Bend.  In 1942, Simpson sold his estate to Oregon, designating it as a park.  This tree was recognized in 2002 as the largest of its species in the United States by the National Register of Big Trees.

LJ Simpson was the son of Asa Simpson, a wealthy shipping and timber magnate. LJ Simpson greatly expanded his father’s companies and actively promoted economic development of the surrounding area. He donated land to the City of North Bend to spur industrial growth, built parks and sponsored community art. He also served as the city’s first mayor unti 1915.

Simpson built a mansion at Shore Acres with his wife Cassandra in 1906-1907.  Cassandra died in April 1921.  The mansion burned down in July of that same year.  LJ Simpson remarried in 1922 to Lela Gardener and they adopted two infant girls.  The Simpson family built a new house on the Shore Acres site and moved into it in 1928.

The Great Depression took a heavy toll on the Simpson fortune and he eventually went bankrupt in 1940.  Simpson sold his properties along the coast to the State of Oregon to be used as state parks: Sunset Beach, Shore Acres, and Cape Arago.  He lived in Barview until he died of cancer in 1949.

Circumference: 208 inches

Height: approx. 95 feet

Crown spread: 74 feet

Age:  approx. 100 years