The Olmsted Elm in Fairsted's South Lawn.
This American elm was on the landscape when Olmsted bought this property he called "Fairsted" in 1883, moving both his family and landscape architecture business. While Olmsted and his son John Charles Olmsted removed other trees from a worn-out orchard in its vicinity, they kept this particular tree as an important feature of the pastoral landscape they created in the southern portion of the two-acre property.
The "Olmsted Elm", which was planted circa 1810, was a main stay in the Fairsted landscape for generations. In recent history, the elm's health seriously declined and, as a result, its structural stability was compromised. Symptoms included crown dieback, shedding of bark and branches, spreading infections of wood and root decay fungi, and the widening of a vertical seam along the main trunk. Together, these symptoms increased the risk of tree failure and potential damage to the adjacent Olmsted house.
The Olmsted Elm on Fairsted's South Lawn
Olmsted Archives
In addition, the tree was impacted by infections of Dutch elm disease over the past decade. The most recent infection was in 2009 and caused progressive dieback of the canopy, which further contributed to the elm's decline. As the elm continued to deteriorate, the NPS staff has taken careful steps to promote the tree's longevity while minimizing risks of sudden failure. When Dutch elm disease infections have occurred, the NPS has treated the tree with fungicides and carefully pruned out dead and deteriorated limbs and branches. In 2005, NPS staff installed a non-invasive limb cabling system in the tree's upper crown to help stabilize the tree. In 2010, the site staff fenced off the lawn area directly beneath the tree branch canopy to protect visitors from falling debris.
Olmsted Elm circa 1908
Olmsted Archives
The final decision to remove the tree was based principally on its deteriorated condition and the associated risk of sudden structural failure.The NPS consulted arborists and research scientists specializing in aged tree management. The consensus was that the tree posed an immediate hazard and should be removed. Park staff, friends, and visitors shared in sad day of March 30, 2011. A time-lapse video captured this momentous occasion.
Working with the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Olmsted NHS staff took cuttings from the existing tree for propagation of genetic clones;hoping that if one reached adequate size and vigor, it would be planted in the same place as the original.For more than a decade, the NPS worked with the Arnold Arboretum, but regrettably the clones either failed to thrive or themselves became victims of Dutch Elm Disease, which had also afflicted the historic elm. While attempts to replace the tree with this propagated material were unsuccessful, the NPS continued to employ techniques to promote the replacement elm's growth in a manner that approximates the aesthetic features of the original. As a result, the NPS planted a disease-tolerant American elm variety there instead. Again, this celebration was captured on video.
The new tree is a "Jefferson Elm," a cultivar that typically develops the classic vase-shape that characterized the historic Olmsted elm and also has shown resistance to Dutch Elm Disease. Turning to research to find a suitable replacement, the Jefferson Elm cultivar was chosen.Developed by the National Park Service and the U.S. NationalArboretum, and drawn from a thriving elm planted on the National Mall in the 1930's, in addition to its other virtues, the cultivar has an association with Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., who had a significant role in planning the Mall when he was a member of the 1901 McMillan Commission.
Time-Lapse of the Removal of the Olmsted Elm
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Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site bid farewell to its "Olmsted Elm" on the morning of March 30th. The tree had to be removed due to it hazardous condition. The National Park Service hopes to replace the elm with a genetic clone derived from the original tree once the ground has been prepared and one of the several clones, or propagules, has reached sufficient size. The removal of the Olmsted Elm was captured on this time-lapse video.
An Elm returns to Fairsted
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Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Eight students from the Rhode Island School of Design used material from the Olmsted Elm to address the prompt:
Frederick Law Olmsted was a man of many interests and occupations. Some more successful than others. Choose one of these occupations and make an object that you think Olmsted would have wanted to have with him during the practice of the chosen occupation.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Daniel Cavicchi, Associate Professor of American Studies and Head of the Department of History at the Rhode Island School of Design, describes the impact of the Witness Tree seminar.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Dale Broholm, Senior Critic in the Department of Furniture Design, Rhode Island School of Design, reflects on the work with the Olmsted Elm material and visiting the Fairsted grounds as part of the Witness Tree Project.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Charlie Pepper, Senior Project Manager, Preservation Maintenance & Education, Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, reflects on his twenty five years of stewardship for the Olmsted Elm in his NPS career.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Alan Banks, Supervisory Park Ranger at Frederick Law Olmsted NHS, reflects on his view of the Olmsted Elm from his arrival at the site in 1990 till its loss in 2011.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
The Olmsted Elm came down in March 2011 due to age and instability.
The opening essays introduce the Olmsted Elm from the perspective of several
who knew it well. Lasting personal and professional impacts of this important
tree are conveyed in these first-hand accounts.
The essays that follow are the RISD students’ written components of their
Witness Tree Project assignments. Their ideas, crafted in text and wood, express
their understandings and interpretations of the three studied topics.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Five students from the Rhode Island School of Design used material from the Olmsted Elm to address the prompt:
The demands of public spaces in a democratic society have been fraught with turmoil since our country’s founding. Public usage of public spaces does not always conform to the expectations of society nor necessarily adhere to the laws of a given time. Pick a period and explore this issue through an object.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Seven students from the Rhode Island School of Design used material from the Olmsted Elm to address the prompt:
Leisure activities, play, relaxation in public spaces have changed in many ways during the past century. Identify a period of time in America’s past, staring with the 1850s, and create an object that reflects a form of leisure, play, recreation, etc. that would have been popular and recognizable during the selected time period.
The Olmsted Elm came down in March 2011 due to age and instability. RISD students took the discarded wood and created objects from them. Frederick Law Olmsted was a man of many interests and occupations. Some more successful than others. Choose one of these occupations and make an object that you think Olmsted would have wanted to have with him during the practice of the chosen occupation.
The Olmsted Elm came down in March 2011 due to age and instability. RISD students took the discarded wood and created objects from them. Leisure activities in public spaces have changed during the past century. Identify a period of time in America’s past, staring with the 1850s, and create an object that reflects a form of leisure that would have been popular during that time period.
The Olmsted Elm came down in March 2011 due to age and instability. RISD students took the discarded wood and created objects from them. The demands of public spaces in our society have been fraught with turmoil since our country’s founding. Use of public spaces does not always conform to the expectations of society nor its laws. Pick a time period and explore this issue through an object.
