CT’s Largest Tree (Simsbury)

Pinchot Me, I’m Dreaming
The Pinchot Sycamore, Simsbury

September 8, 2006

With contribution from EdHill

(Be sure to check out The Coolest Tree in CT too!)

mq1e.jpgThe Pinchot Sycamore marked the beginning of Museum Quest and serves as a good bridge between the museum focus of this website and the hidden secrets contained within the other tabs. And so, we began our MuseumQuest list of almost 700 Connecticut Museums and important sites with a big tree near my house. At least it’s a darn big tree.

In fact, the Pinchot Sycamore is the biggest tree in Connecticut, the largest sycamore in New England, and one of the biggest sycamores in the whole country. To me, what’s more interesting than the tree itself is that the town of Simsbury can be so sure that there is not a bigger tree miles from civilization in the northwest corner of the state somewhere. And really, how does one measure the absolute size of a tree anyway? I read a few years ago that there is some controversy about the biggest rock in the state, which is supposedly down near the Indian casinos somewhere in the woods off of I-395. I remarked at the time, “I don’t buy it. How can they possibly know and what are the parameters one uses to decide what a singular “rock” is? But this essay isn’t about that rock, it’s about Connecticut’s tree of trees, this serpentine sycamore with it’s own sign, two little monuments, and a visitor’s lot.

Of course, this isn’t the first tree I have gone slightly out of my way to visit in my travels (trust me), so Hoang wasn’t totally shocked by the stop on our way to Simsbury’s SeptemberFest. (Though, perhaps snapping 21 photos was a bit much.) Truth be told, it’s a beautiful tree near the banks of the Farmington River next to a quaint old bridge along Route 185. There are many online peaens and odes to the Pinchot Sycamore, and it’s nice to see the tree still in a relatively pastoral setting rather than ignored among the sprawl to which a lot of Connecticut is succumbing.

mq1c.jpgLast measured in 1998 when it was 26 feet around and 95 feet high, the sycamore is stunning in it’s sheer girth. The tree is named for Gifford Pinchot, perhaps Simsbury’s most famous native son (but I have much to learn yet). In his 99 years (1865-1964), Pinchot was appointed by his buddy Teddy Roosevelt as the nation’s first head of the US Forestry Service. One of our country’s first environmental champions, he also was an important player down at Yale as well as a Governor of Pennsylvania. A National Forest in Washington state also bears his name – and contains within it the Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument, which we visited back in 2001.

Of course, if you’re like me, when you hear “Pinchot” you immediately think of Bronson Pinchot, star of the horrible “Perfect Strangers” sitcom. Then, again if you’re like me, upon seeing the perfectly fine yet somehow underappreciated sister sycamore across the dirt parking lot you wonder to yourself, “If this is the Pinchot sycamore, I can only assume that that is the Linn-Baker sycamore.” And then, if your traveling partner is like mine, he blurts out, “Ah, yes, Mark Linn-Baker, Balki’s trusty side-kick from that horrible sitcom; that is – Wethersfield, Connecticut-native Mark Linn-Baker.” Yes folks, we have many hundreds of sites yet to visit and document – and you can expect more of this useless yet somehow interesting banter all along. It’s what we do.

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The Beautiful Pinchot Sycamore

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The lesser known Mark Linn-Baker Sycamore across the lot

My little family met up with Ed under the tree on a beautiful Friday evening after work. Before his arrival, I walked around the little grassy area trying to get a good picture of the whole tree for a few minutes then enjoyed the river for a bit before reading the plaques. While I was reading, Hoang took the camera and proceeded to take two pictures – both of which were far better than any of those that I took. After Ed arrived, he stared at the tree for a few seconds, declared it a nice tree and then proceeded to play with Damian for a few minutes. We took our group picture – I can’t wait to see how old my son is if/when this project is ever completed – watched some hefty women lug their canoe up out of the river to their truck, and took a brief moment to bask in the glow of CTMQ. Oh, and the sunset too.

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One of the two informative stone monuments at the tree

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The Farmington River meanders mere feet away

EdHill Says:

Calling the Pinchot Sycamore “Connecticut’s tree of trees?” Oh for shame, Stephen. For shame. What, pray tell, is on the Connecticut state commemorative quarter? What tree has places named after it in Hartford? A college named after it in New Britain? We all know Connecticut’s “tree of trees” is the grand Charter Oak. Granted, the thing died over a hundred years ago and in its place is just a giant marble statue, but it’s still our “claim to fame” tree.

That said, the Pinchot tree was a fine tree. And it’s nice that the town takes care of it so well. Although it wasn’t technically a museum, it was a decent kickoff to MuseumQuest. But then again I had a buzz going from happy hour at Pettibone’s Tavern located just across the Farmington River, so any tree would have been good at that point.

What’s next, Connecticut’s largest mudhole?

Back to Arboreta, Gardens & Greenhouses, Labyrinths, Trees & Plants

…………………………………………………….


For the Curious:

Hartford Courant article about the sycamore
People who love this tree way too much
This lady really loves the Pinchot Sycamore
These guys made a guitar out of a Pinchot Sycamore branch that broke off.
Bronson Pinchot is a freak

16 responses to “CT’s Largest Tree (Simsbury)”

  1. Bill says:

    there are those who would argue that the tree in the parkinglot at Uconn’s westhartford campus is actually bigger.

  2. Steve says:

    Really? I’m very familiar with that tree as I used to play b-ball there across the bridge and also took a few classes at the WH branch -AND I happen to live only a couple miles away.

    By my own eyes I determine the Pinchot Sycamore to be bigger. Heck, I’ll go take a picture of it right now and post it up here.

    Here you are. A mere baby white oak. And here it is in relation to a 2003 Jetta and lamp post. Yes, it’s a big tree. But Gifford Pinchot spits on it.

    By the way, this page alone accounts for the bulk of CTMQ’s Google hits. Maybe because it was the first post… or maybe because people really do care about CT’s biggest tree. I choose to believe the latter.

  3. Laura and Bill says:

    We viewed this tree by chance on an outing yesterday. We were totally impressed by it. The tree must be well over 300 years old. It could be well over 500 years old. Not that we are experts by any means, but the limbs themselves are massive. Imagine the stories it could tell.

  4. Mike Kelly says:

    I thought that the Pinchot was in Weatogue 06089,
    not actually in Simsbury?????

    Thanks
    Mike

  5. Steve says:

    Ah, the ol’ CT towns vs. parts of towns debate. As you poke around this site, you’ll find me scratching my head quite often at this conundrum. I know that Weatogue is part of Simsbury. I even have friends that live there. Where it begins and ends, however, is beyond me.

    Someday I’ll figure it out… maybe.

  6. Linda says:

    Nice little story about the Pinchot Sycamore! I was just there the other day and snapped a quick picture. My nephew and I, in conjunction with my business/website are compiling a collection if you will of ancient trees in the state. We are starting in our hometown of Salem, CT but at the same time documenting others we find along the way. We were just at the New York Botanical Garden and took a few shots there at great old trees. There is an organization in Canada called Heritage Trees specifically focused on identification and preservation of old trees, and they have interesting information about the role of them ecologically.

  7. RoseMarie Herdman says:

    My husband Roy and I visited the tree 8-23,2009.

    One beautiful tree. The setting is just breath-taking

  8. Connecticut’s Largest Tree…. « ConservaCity says:

    [...] interesting information here. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)A Mother’s Wish for X-Mas Tree [...]

  9. Colleen says:

    Weatogue is in Simsbury. Both are correct place names to describe this locale. What is not, however, is to call it the “Northwest Corner”, which not to try and sound snooty or anything, is a distnct area pertaining to areas of Litchfield County north of Route 6.

    Thanks for the great Article!

  10. Michelle says:

    Does anyone know if the Pinchot tree in Simsbury is owned by Simsbury or the State of CT?

  11. A Couple of HDR Shots From Connecticut « Your Daily Juice says:

    [...] represent how massive this Sycamore tree is but you can get some more info if your interested from CTMuseumQuest.com . This is a prime location to shoot with numerous vantage points.  You have the lake where some [...]

  12. bob says:

    this would make good fire wood

  13. Mike Kelly says:

    Well I finally went to the library in Simsbury and looked up Weatogue.
    Simsbury was part of Windsor and was established in 1670. Weatogue was established in 1663.

    http://www.topix.com/album/detail/simsbury-ct/VUB097VLBP7GHU1M

    I uploaded the above photo of the book at the library where I got the info
    from. It feels pretty good to be able to prove at last the the largest tree
    in the state of CT is actually in WEATOGUE, that existed first, before Simsbury.

    [img]http://s968.photobucket.com/albums/ae168/CTguy1955/weatogue.jpg[/img]

  14. CtCameraEye.com » Blog Archive » Historic trees in Connecticut severely damaged by October storm says:

    [...] to be about 500 years old sustained heavy damage in the rare October winter storm. In Simsbury, the Pinchot Sycamore tree on Rt. 185 was also damaged with many large limbs broken off. This tree is to be believed to [...]

  15. Max Burger says:

    Will Oliver built an informational kiosk near the Pinchot Sycamore Tree and cleaned up the Farmington River. Keiko Kaplan designed built a set of 2 raised planting beds and a potting table for senior citizens for The Simsmbury Housing Authority Virginia Connolly Residence(across the road from Necker’s Toy Store and Blue Fox Rockin’ Bowl). James Depasquale refurbished the St. Catherine of Siena Church entry doors.

  16. Max Burger says:

    For my eagle service project, I will be building 3 picnic tables for the Farmington Valley Jewish Congragation Emek Shalom. (On Bushy Hill Road)

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