THE TREES OF BOSTON COMMON 



1876, when it fell in a gale on the fifteenth 

 of February of that year. A local historian 

 says of this tree, "What I am is of little 

 consequence; what I have seen and known 

 is identified with the human race." 1 And 

 concerning the other landmark, Lafayette, 

 when in Boston, said, "The world should 

 never forget where once stood Liberty Tree 

 so famous in your annals!" 



There has arisen on the site of the Great 

 Elm, and from its roots, a sprout generally 

 known as "the old elm's descendant." It 

 is now a lusty tree 6| feet in circumference, 

 and is surrounded by an iron enclosure. 

 Two inscriptions have been erected at its 

 base, one in commemoration of the parent 

 tree, and the other descriptive of the off- 

 shoot that stands in its very footprints. 



THE OLD ELM 



THIS TREE HAS BEEN STANDING 

 HERE FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD. 

 IT IS BELIEVED TO HAVE EXISTED 

 BEFORE THE SETTLEMENT OF BOSTON, 

 BEING FULLY GROWN IN 1 722, EXHIB- 

 ITED MARKS OF OLD AGE IN I7Q2, , 



1 Mass. Historical Society Proceedings, vol. 14, p. 300. 



