W.J. Beal Botanical Garden’s Spartan Tree Stories

12. The Mary Abbot Commemorative White Pine

Pinus strobus

This is the first commemorative tree grown on campus, planted in celebration of the birth of President Abbot and his wife’s daughter Mary on June 31, 1863. The Abbots dug up a sapling white pine growing along the banks of the Red Cedar River and transplanted it to the northwest corner of Cowles House where they resided. Twenty-one years later Mary took her wedding vows in the shade of this beautiful and historic tree.

 - Dr. Frank W. Telewski
Retired, Director of W. J. Beal Botanical Garden and Campus Arboretum
Professor Emeritus, Department of Plant Biology