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Postmortem on the 45th/Trenton tree: It was there first

July 22, 2008 5:40 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

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We went back a little while ago to check on the 45th/Trenton (map) tree, finally taken down today (WSB coverage from this morning, including links to previous reports, here) after years of conflict with power lines and trimming work related to those lines. Looking at the circumference of its remains, we realized the tree obviously was there long before the power lines – how long, you ask?

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Nearby resident Elise, who provided photos for this morning’s story, sent that one, and the one below, with the report that a neighbor had decided to estimate the tree’s age. On its rings, he marked a timeline:

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Final estimate: About 140 years, dating back to about 1868, only 17 years after the Denny Party got here. One notable West Seattle event in 1868, according to HistoryLink: Doc Maynard sold his 320-acre farm on Alki Point for $450. The first electric service in Seattle was still 18 years away, according to Seattle City Light‘s history webpage.

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7 Replies to "Postmortem on the 45th/Trenton tree: It was there first"

  • Rasmus July 22, 2008 (6:22 pm)

    Ah, how sad. There’s no stopping progress they say, and in that light it’s quite impressive that the tree was allowed to stick around as long as it did.

    It’s still sad, though. 140 years is a long time.

  • Gina July 22, 2008 (6:38 pm)

    Looks as if the center of the tree was rotting. Better loss of the tree than loss of life if it had crashed on the house during a windstorm.

  • tired of tree killers July 22, 2008 (6:43 pm)

    This City needs to run its power lines underground so tree’s like this do not have to be destroyed!

  • vincent July 22, 2008 (8:00 pm)

    Are they keeping the wood? I can come get it!

  • Dave July 23, 2008 (8:13 am)

    Hey, folks this might come as a shock; TREES GROW BACK!

    This guy will have a nice warm and toasty home this winter plus with an enhanced view! Double score.

  • DC July 23, 2008 (10:02 am)

    The utilities should be made to relocate the wires rather than destroying grand old trees and degrading neighborhoods.

  • Eddie July 23, 2008 (8:23 pm)

    I’m betting that any attempt to put the lines underground, now or then, would have also resulted in the loss of the tree.

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