Request for Question Clarification by
scriptor-ga
on
19 Sep 2006 12:29 PDT
Dear stephenh,
I don't dare post this as an answer since I am not sure whether the
amount of information I found would satisfy you. So I decided to just
post it as a comment for now and leave it up to you to decide if it is
of interest for you. If not, the information I found might be useful
for my colleagues. Just let me know what you think.
Regards,
Scriptor
First, here is a photo of the said tree. Unfortunately, it's of very
poor quality. Actually, it's just a thumbnail from a defunct website
which I tried to enlarge and enhance as good as possible:
http://home.arcor.de/poesenau/witness-tree.bmp
The website where the larger original version of this image used to be
seems not to exist anymore; I found it only as a cached miniature
version in Google's image search:
http://images.google.de/images?q=%22witness+tree%22+alexandria&btnG=Suche&svnum=10&hl=de&lr=&newwindow=1
Apart from this certainly not convicning photo, I found only bits and
pieces of information about the tree.
"Thirty years ago, a determined group of Alexandrians established the
Bicentennial Tree Project. After an exhaustive multi-year, city-wide
search, a group of 17 trees were identified as "Living Witnesses of
the American Revolution." Each tree was given a plaque attesting to
its distinction and designation. Of the original trees, disease and
neglect have exacted a toll. Today only six of seventeen, including
one designated "The Bicentennial Tree," remain standing. (...) Two of
those trees reside on public land. A massive Willow Oak, officially
designated in 1977 as Alexandria's Bicentennial Tree, overlooks the
Holmes Run bike path. (...) The "Witness Tree" most accessible to
public view is the Bicentennial Tree in Holmes Run Park. The tree is
located approximately 100 yards from the park's Duke Street entrance."
Source
The Connection Newspapers: Local Youth Discover Ancient Landmarks,
Caring for Witness Trees
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?archive=true&article=30458
"City of Alexandria Designated Historic Trees
Living Witnesses of the American Revolution'
1.Willow Oak: Hike Path near Richmarr and Latham"
Source:
City of Alexandria: Historic Preservation 1992 Masterplan
http://www.ci.alexandria.va.us/planningandzoning/pdf/masterplan_historic_preservation.pdf
"Brookvalley Park
Park Usage: Community Park, scenic natural area, biking and walking,
playground, exercise area, sitting and picnic areas, ballfield, garden
plots and the Bicentennial Tree. (...) The Bicentennial Tree resides
at Brookvalley which is the oldest tree in Alexandria."
Source:
City of Alexandria: Brookvalley Park
http://alexandriava.gov/recreation/parks/brookvalley_park.html
Furthermore, the tree is mentioned with a small map of its location in
Pamela J. Cressey's book "Walk and Bike the Alexandria Heritage Trail"
(pages 50 and 51), which can be accessed through Google Books:
http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1892123894&id=E--KzyINwCMC&pg=PA50&lpg=PA48&vq=%22bicentennial+tree%22&dq=alexandria+%22bicentennial+tree%22&sig=BSdnygutX7EJTMnIEWMcXntDRB4
http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1892123894&id=E--KzyINwCMC&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&vq=%22bicentennial+tree%22&dq=alexandria+%22bicentennial+tree%22&sig=ScLmpaL1RjCDwA52XMOdwUrnzww
