McGrew Arbor Home To State Champion Trees
A unique honor has come to the grounds surrounding McGrew House. In 2020, the West Virginia Big Tree Program, maintained through the Division of Forestry, has identified four State Champion Trees and one other that is second in their species.
The Champions include the Bigleaf Magnolia, which stands 26.7' tall and has a circumference of 67.5"; the Yellowwood, which stands 50.2' tall and has a circumference of 80.4"; the European Larch, which stands 87.1' tall with a circumference of 151.4"; and the extremely rare Japanese Tigertail Spruce.
One other registered tree is the European Beech, which stands 36.7' tall and has a circumference of 146".
Identified by yellow and blue ribbons, all the Champion trees are within a short walk of each other and are near other distinctive species unusual to our climate. Particularly, the Ginkgo is a native to the Orient; the Norway Spruce and Maples from Europe; and and three other varieties of Magnolia---Saucer, Sweetbay and native Cucumber tree.
All these and more are identified with interpretive tree signs and are described more fully in a recently published map available at McGrew House. Come see for yourself, and you will agree with forestry expert, Turner Sharp, who said, "You have a treasure here--really!"
That the McGrew grounds have so many distinguished trees comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with James C. McGrew's own life and wide-ranging interests. He amassed an impressive library and spent hours pondering works of literature, social-polity, philosophy, architecture, theology, and this particular interest--the grandest of nature's trees. That both his home and the trees that he planted here still survive into yet another century is another part of his legacy.
The Champions include the Bigleaf Magnolia, which stands 26.7' tall and has a circumference of 67.5"; the Yellowwood, which stands 50.2' tall and has a circumference of 80.4"; the European Larch, which stands 87.1' tall with a circumference of 151.4"; and the extremely rare Japanese Tigertail Spruce.
One other registered tree is the European Beech, which stands 36.7' tall and has a circumference of 146".
Identified by yellow and blue ribbons, all the Champion trees are within a short walk of each other and are near other distinctive species unusual to our climate. Particularly, the Ginkgo is a native to the Orient; the Norway Spruce and Maples from Europe; and and three other varieties of Magnolia---Saucer, Sweetbay and native Cucumber tree.
All these and more are identified with interpretive tree signs and are described more fully in a recently published map available at McGrew House. Come see for yourself, and you will agree with forestry expert, Turner Sharp, who said, "You have a treasure here--really!"
That the McGrew grounds have so many distinguished trees comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with James C. McGrew's own life and wide-ranging interests. He amassed an impressive library and spent hours pondering works of literature, social-polity, philosophy, architecture, theology, and this particular interest--the grandest of nature's trees. That both his home and the trees that he planted here still survive into yet another century is another part of his legacy.