When early White settlers entered our region almost 240 years ago it looked much different. There were towering old-growth forests that had been untouched by time.
One of the trees that populated the forests was the Great American Chestnut. Called “the king of the forest,” in some cases its size competed with that of the California Redwood. Its demise is considered one of the greatest ecological disasters of modern history.
The chestnut tree is part of the beech family. The wood is rot resistant and as such was used for cabin foundations, furniture, coffins, fencing, railroad ties, and telephone and utility poles etc. Its tannin, made from the bark, was used in the process of leather tanning and natural medicines.
The tree was one that grew rapidly and was virtually fire resistant. It grew to tremendous heights with a large girth and regenerated prolifically. It dominated the forests here, loving the rocky soil of the mountains and foothills.
Not only was the wood a valuable part of the frontier life, but its calorie-rich nutritious nuts were a life giving food source for wildlife and people. Native Americans and later settlers would set fires below the large trees smoking out the worms so they could consume the nuts. Hogs and cattle were fattened in chestnut forests and the nut itself was shipped by the train carloads to markets where roasted chestnuts were popular.
Nutritionally the chestnut is high in vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants including minerals like magnesium and potassium. Tea made from boiling the tree bark was once used to treat arthritis, coughs and sore throats.
In the late 1800s an Asian blight was introduced to the United States via the ports of New York. It was deadly to our chestnut. In the early 1900s efforts were made to slow its progression, by burning forests between New York and the south. It continued to move toward us at the rate of 50 miles per year.
By the 1950s, the pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica effectively destroyed the Great American Chestnut in its home in the Appalachian mountain chain region, including here and The Great Smokies.
The fungus is only destructive above ground. Surprisingly, if they were not dug up, where roots of the trees remain intact, in many places, saplings appear. As soon as those shoots rise above the ground however they are destroyed. The root system remains in wait to try again. Because of this the Great American Chestnut is not considered extinct but is instead labeled, “functionally extinct”.
There are a few surviving Great American Chestnut trees. They grow from Maryland to Alabama and provide hope for future repopulation. Two of the oldest and largest of the survivors are in Jackson County, Tennessee. One of them has been pollinated with hybrid pollen by the American Chestnut Foundation; the offspring will have mostly American Chestnut genes and some of the offspring will be blight resistant.
Tennessee State Parks have become an experimental planting ground for the testing of the hybrids. In 2019 a joint project with The Tennessee Environmental Council and The American Chestnut Foundation was created called, The Chestnut Project.
Six trees have been planted in each of six parks: two American Chestnut trees, two Chinese Chestnut trees and two blight resistant trees. Through the use of illustrative signage visitors can see that the two native trees will die within a few years and the other trees should survive. The closest park to us with this program is Panther Creek in Hamblin County.
With its demise in the 1950s, our generation may be the only one that will not have witnessed the forested majesty of the Great American Chestnut from the past, and its hopeful resurgence in the future. In the meantime, if you have a piece of that great old tree that once dominated our area, cherish it and hand it down. It is an item to be valued and a real piece of our early history.
Local News
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