BIG PINE FOUND

In the Big Tree Lists of 1980 and 1985 the two largest pines had circumferences of, respectively, 135″ and 132″.  The larger one was recorded by John Dawson but its location was not given. The smaller tree was recorded by H. E. Baldwin as occurring in ‘Gregg land off Longwood.’

The town of Deering acquired a 6.7 a parcel from George and Katherine Gregg in 1970. The parcel is landlocked, situated in a triangle, one leg of which is Manselville Rd. and the other is Longwood Road. This must be the ‘Gregg land off Longwood’ refereed to in the 1980 tree list.

I looked for the tree in 2017 but without luck, although I think I found mountain laurel. This year I asked Ray Daniels, whose sand pit abuts the Gregg land, if he knew this big pine. He told me that that he could see it from his house and that it is not far from the ATV trail that runs from Longwoods road.

With that in mind I set out this morning (should have worn spikes) and trudged through the rapidly disappearing snow until I saw the magnificent tree just beside the trail.

In 1980 the circumference at breast height was 132″ and today it measured 148″. This is nowhere near the county record for white pine (179″) but it’s still an impressive tree, straight and tall. In seemingly perfect health.

Now to find the Dawson tree!