Hello, from beautiful downtown New Jersey:

I landed on your web site for a project I have underway, and I am hoping that you can help with it. I am writing a book, to be called “WITNESS TREES: Silent Sentinels of American History.” This will be as much a state-by-state travel guide as it will be a gazetteer about people, places, and events in America’s history.

If you’re not familiar with the term, a Witness Tree is one – still alive and standing – that “witnessed” an event or stands by a historic site in America. It could be a battle fought nearby, a speech made or peace council held beneath its boughs, or even a lawbreaker hanged from its branches. A Witness Tree might grace the yard at the home of someone notable in the area’s history.

I was interested in your quest for information on the order of battle for Van Dorn's forces, because I am trying to find out if there are any sites in and around Holly Springs (other than historical markers) that might have a "historic" witness tree still standing. Garvin Tate's account " A Day at Holly Springs," <www.d-a-c.com/Holly Springs/town> gives a detailed account of that campaign. What I seek, and hope you might know, are physical reminders of that campaign -- houses, commercial buildings; whatever. Holly Springs, nonetheless, is not without its other historic sites: The visitors' Center is located in the home of Ida B. Wells, a well-known civil rights activist from the 1960s. One of the "Freedom Schools" from that period, in a modest Bungalow-style house, still stands.

For the purpose of my book, it will not be enough to say merely that a certain historic tree witnessed the birth of a city, state or the nation; or that old trees line the avenue of a “historic” neighborhood, arboretum or public garden. Some thing needs to have happened at or near the tree. The idea behind the book will be that when travelers touch a particular Witness Tree they can say that they have touched history.

I should point out that a Witness Tree is not the same as a Champion Tree (although some of those may also be a Witness Tree). A Champion is the largest documented tree of its species in a particular state. State Champion Trees can also be nominated for national champion status. Champion trees need not even be accessible to the traveling public, but can be located anywhere: in a swamp, a ravine or on a mountaintop. All Witness Trees featured in my book will be accessible to the public.

Would you or your organization know of any specific, individual trees in your area that might qualify as Witness Trees? If so, could you e-mail some information to me about it/them? Or, could you forward this message to the appropriate person or group that might know of its history and legends. Thanks, and I hope to hear from you soon!

J. Wandres
624 Randall Way
Aberdeen, NJ 07747
TEL: 732/566-7594
EML: jperiod@optonline.net

By the Way: New Jersey has more than a dozen historic Witness Trees. These range from three giant Sycamores planted in 1766 at Princeton University to mark repeal of the Crown’s onerous Stamp Tax act. A Holly Tree planted in the 1850s witnessed the 1967 “Spirit of Glassboro” summit between President Johnson and Soviet premier Kosygin.