Toppled tree


The Life of Stewart Hall's silver maple

1889 _ June: Planted by Dr. Charles Frederick Millspaugh or his grounds crew; verified by listing of campus trees in Morgantown Agricultural Experiment report dated June 30, 1889.
1978 _ Some limb damage by tornado, with removal of hanging branches and cabling of some major limbs by Larry Boyles, first WVU tree surgeon.
1989 _ September: some removal of dead branches and broken stubs within tree by second tree surgeon, Daniel E. Brown.
1994 _ March: removal of some small limb damage due to storm damage during Winter 1993-94.

One of the most visible landmarks of WVU’s downtown campus is gone, but it definitely didn’t leave with a whimper.

A sudden wind and thunderstorm swept through Morgantown around 4:30 p.m. Thursday (May 26) and toppled a 100-plus-year-old, 70-foot silver maple that stood proudly in front of Stewart Hall.

The National Weather Service said on Friday that the microburst produced winds between 70 and 80 mph.

The wind snapped the tree at its base; it landed between the historic building and the Mountainlair on WVU’s Downtown Campus. WVU Facilities workers were hard at work cutting up the tree and clearing the area Friday.

The Stewart Hall silver maple was the fifth-oldest tree on the WVU campus, according to West Virginia University’s Eight Oldest Trees published in 1995 by WVU tree surgeon Daniel Brown.



Clearing the debris




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Do you have a favorite recollection of sitting or studying or perhaps being kissed under this magnificent tree? Did you paint it on canvas or in your mind? Tell us about your memories of this iconic spot.