"Herbie" was an

American elm ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America, naturally occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to F ...

tree located in

Yarmouth, Maine Yarmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, twelve miles north of the state's largest city, Portland. When originally settled in 1636, as North Yarmouth, it was part of Massachusetts, and remained as such for 213 years. In 18 ...

, United States. It stood by present-day East Main Street ( State Route 88), at its intersection with Yankee Drive, for 217 years (from 1793 to January 19, 2010). At 110 feet in height, it was, between 1997 and the date of its felling, the oldest''Images of America: Yarmouth'', Hall, Alan M., Arcadia (2002) and largest"Yarmouth braces for Herbie's demise"
- ''

Portland Press Herald The ''Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram'' is a morning daily newspaper with a website that serves southern Maine and is focused on the greater metropolitan area around Portland, Maine, in the United States. Founded in 1862, its roots e ...

'', August 10, 2009 of its kind in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

.The National Register of Big Trees: 2000-01
/ref> The tree, which partially stood in the front yard of a private residence, also had a 20-foot circumference and (until mid-2008) a 93-foot crown spread. It was so-named when children witnessed some of its diseased limbs being sawn off. "What are you going to do to Herbie? Don't cut Herbie!" they cried, and the name stuck. A plaque on its trunk stated: On May 1, 1834, the town gave Herbie some company by planting rows of elm trees along East Elm Street. From 1957 onward, however, most of them succumbed to

Dutch elm disease Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...

. As of 2003, only twenty of Yarmouth's original 739 elms had survived."Champion of Trees" - American Profile
After battling fifteen bouts of Dutch elm disease, in 2007, stripes appeared under the tree's bark, indicating a worsening condition. In August 2009, it was revealed that Herbie would be cut down on January 18 and 19, 2010, at a cost of $20,000."When this tree falls, he will feel it"
- Boston.com, December 27, 2009 In October 2009, the plaque was removed from its trunk and replaced with a laminated version, and before the end of the year, "The Herbie Project" fund-raising campaign was set up to raise money to care for and plant other trees in the town. After the tree's demise, local

woodworker Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials ...

s used its wood to make products to be auctioned off to raise money for the trust. A snowstorm during the night of January 17–18, 2010 postponed the removal. The tree was removed on January 19. A preliminary count of the tree's rings, done on site, revealed its age to be at least 212 years. On February 4, however, the official count showed it to be 217. The stump was removed over the weekend of May 29 and 30. A section of the trunk's base was on show at the 2010 Yarmouth Clam Festival. It is now on permanent display outside Yarmouth town hall, on Cleaves Street, a project of the local

Eagle Scouts Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

Frank Knight Frank Hyneman Knight (November 7, 1885 – April 15, 1972) was an American economist who spent most of his career at the University of Chicago, where he became one of the founders of the Chicago School. Nobel laureates Milton Friedman, George ...

, the town's former "tree warden", died at the age of 103 on May 14, 2012. Knight's casket was made, in secret, out of Herbie's wood. Succeeded by Deb Hopkins in 2006, Knight cared for the tree for half of his life, having accepted the role in 1956. Knight's efforts were recognized by the town: the athletic fields at North Yarmouth Academy bear his name, as does a forest behind the town's

community garden A community garden is a piece of land gardened or cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively. Normally in community gardens, the land is divided into individual plots. Each individual gardener is responsible for their own plo ...

; a tree in front of Yarmouth's town hall was planted in his honor; and, in 1983, he was the fourth recipient of the town's Latchstring Award.

References in popular culture

In 2017, Portland's Liquid Riot Bottling Company released a beer in tribute to Herbie."Brewery cheers beloved Yarmouth tree Herbie with new beer"
- ''Portland Press Herald'', September 19, 2017

Gallery

File:Yarmouthville, Yarmouth ME.jpg, Yarmouth was once flush with American elms. These, on Main Street, were some of the original 739 that existed File:Herbie's stump.jpg, A section of Herbie's stump, pictured in May 2010, is prepared for removal. A

stump grinder Stump grinders can be the size of a lawn mower or as large as a truck. Most accomplish their task by means of a high-speed disk with teeth that grinds the stump and roots into small chips. A typical stump grinder incorporates a cutter wheel wi ...

removed the remainder at the end of the month File:Herbie on display.jpg, The above section on display at the 2010 Yarmouth Clam Festival. It is now on permanent display on Cleaves Street, on the property of Yarmouth's town hall File:Herbie T-shirt.jpg, The front and back of a "The Herbie Project"

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

References

External links

"Farewell to Herbie and a 'beautiful' relationship"
- ''

'' article, January 19, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbie Individual elm trees Cumberland County, Maine Yarmouth, Maine Trees of the Northeastern United States 2010s individual tree deaths Individual trees in the United States Landmarks in Maine

References in popular culture

Gallery

See also

References

External links