Have you ever seen an American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata)? Probably not, because most of them are quite thoroughly dead and gone. (Maybe you have seen a look-alike?)
What happened to the fabled American chestnuts of yore? A fungus, a blight, called Edothia parasitica took them out. It was introduced by accident from Asia in the early part of the last century and completely decimated the American chestnut population in just a few short decades, arguably rendering it extint.
Before that, this huge native tree was a mighty forest-maker, the dominant tree of the virgin Eastern forests. Wildlife depended on it. People and livestock ate the nuts, too. It was often harvested for its top quality hardwood. Chestnut trees were put to a variety of uses from construction lumber to rail fencing to telegraph poles to country furniture.
In my area of Pennsylvania, for example, the still rock-solid antique chestnut beams and floor boards are salvaged from historic barns and authentic chestnut trim work inside vintage houses is a prized feature today. Antique furniture collectors know that dealers will charge a premium for a chestnut wood case piece or drop leaf table:
"This is a great investment, you know you'll never see one of these being made again!" And they are probably right. So, until this past weekend, I had never seen one of these once common, historic and reknowned trees in nature, either dead or alive.
During a recent visit to the Patuxent Research Refuge and National Wildlife Visitor Center in Maryland, I did see the pathetic remnants of three American chestnut trees. You will need to take the tram tour to see them. One was an abandoned telegraph pole, said to have carried news of Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" in its day. That pole most certainly provides "living proof" of the quality, strength and durability of chestnut wood -- and of its wealthy abundance at one time.
