THE ELM AT COURT SQUARE, SPRINGFIELD 



When these celebrities passed out of exist- 

 ence, the locality in which they stood ceased 

 to be considered, by many, as the home of 

 any trees possessing remarkable size or special 

 marks of beauty; and yet some few have 

 struggled bravely through the years, filling 

 the places formerly occupied by their noble 

 companions. One at least may be said to 

 be historic, and as for size, it now measures 

 up to all the requirements of an elm of the 

 first class. It is the last survivor of a little 

 group that stood in Court Square near the 

 Old Tavern, "allowing the old yellow-bodied, 

 thorough-braced stage just room enough to 

 swing around to the front door in fine style!" 1 



General Washington rendered the elms his- 

 toric by his visit there when on his way 

 between New York and Cambridge, and he 

 rendered one more famous than the others, 

 i.e., the elm that stood directly in front of 

 the tavern door, for here it was that he sat 

 and "drank his flip." 



The city may well be proud to call the 

 survivor of the group The Springfield Elm. 



1 King, " Hist, of Springfield," p. 234. 



