A TREE BY ANY OTHER NAME

The individual naming of the Big Trees began virtually from the moment of their discovery by Americans. This was the case for both the redwoods and giant sequoias. The first widely known name applied to a coast redwood, of course, was Fremont’s Tree, known today as the Giant. The name was originally bestowed on it by Isaac Graham in honor of that famous explorer’s visit to the grove in the spring of 1846. This tallest of the grove’s Big Trees was also occasionally known as the San Lorenzo Giant, named after the spectacular canyon in which it stands.

Begun as a way to honor certain individuals, the tradition of naming trees at Big Trees Grove became a way to encourage visitation. By the 1880s, large fraternal, religious and business organizations visited Big Trees Grove as part of their annual meetings or conventions. Many tourist seasons saw multiple tree dedications.  

To date, the names of over one hundred trees have been recorded, with some trees bearing two or more names. Unfortunately, the locations of most of them have been lost to history.

A list of "Named Trees at Big Trees Grove" is available in my book, Historic Tales of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park - Big Trees Grove.


A TREE BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD BE AS GREAT


To date we know the names of just over one hundred trees within Big Trees Grove. Some trees have multiple names like the Giant (a.k.a. San Lorenzo Giant, Fremont’s Tree, Rotary Tree).

Author's Personal Collection

Early on most trees were named for prominent men and were identified with simple wooden signs. Starting in the late 19th century, large fraternal, religious and business organizations often made a visit to Big Trees Grove as part of their annual meeting or convention. Both Big Trees Grove and Cowell's Big Trees lured such groups by promising them a tree dedication as a feature of their picnic visit.

 

Many tourist seasons saw multiple tree dedications. Some of these groups prepared an elaborate bronze plaque to adorn the tree named in their honor. Several bronze plaques have been found in the park and placed in secure storage. 

 

Recently as I searched through copies of images provided to me by the late, long-time Big Basin volunteer Scott Peden, I noted an image that corresponded to one of the plaques in possession of the park staff. The plaque in question was for the Royal Neighbors of America.

Author's Personal Colleciton

This fraternal benefit society was founded by women in 1895 and was reportedly the first organization to offer life insurance to women.  

The Royal Neighbors of America was also one of the first fraternal societies to insure children and recognize mortality studies establishing the fact that women live longer than men, and to reflect that difference in life insurance premiums.

Scott Peden Collection

Location of the Royal Neighbors of America Tree remains unknown. 

Postcard of the Giant and image of the Royal Neighbors of America plaque from Author's Personal Collection.  Image of the Royal Neighbors of America Tree from the Scott Peden Collection




SHERMAN AND HIS LIEUTENANTS

One of the most breathtaking redwoods at Big Trees Grove is the General Sherman Tree. It's known as a curly redwood due to the beautiful, wavy pattern of its bark. Among the largest of the Big Trees, some believe it may be the grove’s oldest. It also bears the scars of past, intense fires. And it is likely these fire scars led the monarch to be named in honor of the Civil War general best known for leading Union forces in their infamous March to the Sea which included the burning of Atlanta.

Author's Personal Collection

The General Sherman Tree was officially dedicated in 1881. It's uncertain who bestowed the name, but the Big Trees Grove manager at the time was John Hooper, a Yankee from Massachusetts. Several of the first named redwoods and giant sequoias were dedicated to Union heroes of the Civil War. An 1889 article in the Santa Cruz Daily Surf described the General Sherman Tree at Big Trees Grove as a “noble tree in its rugged [majesty] … 59 feet in circumference and 300 feet in height. About it stands a number of fine trees named ‘Sheridan’, ‘Logan,’ &c., the whole forming the group known as ‘Sherman and his Lieutenants.'" 

A single newspaper article in 1905 claimed Sherman visited the grove as a young lieutenant. Though no proof exists, it is plausible that Sherman came to the Big Trees since he was in California from 1847 to 1858. He was initially stationed at Monterey, and then later in San Francisco. It's said that he traveled widely in California from the missions to the Sierra gold country. In 1848 Sherman participated in an investigation that confirmed the existence of gold deposits along the Sacramento River, thus igniting the Gold Rush. It appears that Sherman's time in California remained very special to him, even telling a friend "[i]f I had no family I would stay in California all my life ..."

Sources: “The Big Trees,” Santa Cruz Daily Surf, June 3, 1889; “Trees of Santa Cruz – One of Them the Largest in the World,” by William E. Curtis, Evening Star [Washington D.C.], September 15, 1905; “9 Things You May Not Know About William Tecumseh Sherman,” by Evan Andrews, revised November 14, 2019 on the History Channel, History Stories https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-william-tecumseh-sherman; “General Sherman Played Role in California Statehood,” by Joe Mathews, San Diego Union-Tribune, September 8, 2016.

INEXPLICABLE LABELS 

Author's Personal Collection

“… [A]fter an unpleasant wrangle over the automobile service and prices, the party took a trip into the mountains to see the big trees. It being noticed that many of the biggest trees in the forest had been given names such as, General Grant, Roosevelt, McKinley, Grover Cleveland and that some others had been dedicated to organizations, a tree was selected and dedicated to the C.L.L.A." [Commercial Law League of America].

The league, established in 1895, is an organization of attorneys and other experts in credit and finance actively engaged in the field of commercial law, bankruptcy and insolvency. Apparently, a group of C.L.L.A. members attending their annual meeting in San Francisco in 1915 took a detour down to Santa Cruz to visit Big Trees Grove and honor their organization with a tree dedication.

“The dedicatory speech was made by Henry Deutsch of Minneapolis, who, when called upon by Secretary Sprague, proceeded to say nothing – one of the most eloquent speeches Mr. Deutsch ever delivered. Words seemed to fail the usually eloquent Ex President in the solemn silence of the great forest. If you want to see the League tree, ask the guide to point out to you a double tree that seems to grow from one root. This is the C.L.L.A. tree. The two parts represent the men and women of the League.”

Unfortunately, today no one knows which double tree was dubbed the Commercial Law League of America Tree.

Source: “The Bulletin of the Commercial Law League of America”, 1915.

"HELLO, BILL !"

Big Trees Grove contains over one hundred named trees. Many of the grove’s monarchs were named for prominent 19^th century individuals and organizations. A few trees were simply given first names such as "Ida", "Hattie" and "Duane" for which we have no origin stories.

Perhaps the most unusually named tree of all is “Hello, Bill !” But in this case, we do know how it received its amusing name. In October 1917 at Cowell’s Big Trees one of the redwood monarchs was dedicated by “Fred Harper, Grand Exalted Ruler to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.”  And that tree’s name was “Hello, Bill !”

Author's Personal Collection

Like other fraternal organizations, the Elks often came to picnic at Big Trees Grove. In one such episode a large contingent of Elks arrived in Santa Cruz in 1909:

“There will be heavy travel through Santa Cruz from the south during the next few days, many of the Elks’ special cars, en route home from Los Angeles Grand Lodge … The visitors have all been invited to stop off and partake of the hospitality of the ‘Hello, Bill’ fellows of this city, who will keep open house at the Elks’ club rooms and will give a continuous barbecue at the Big Trees. Six special trains will arrive here … and scores of private cards attached to regular trains will also be here … All of the visitors will be taken to the Big Trees, either by train, livery rigs or automobiles. The capacity of the City Stables, which has the contract for driving several hundred Elks to the Big Trees each day, will be taxed to the utmost and Mr. Hopkins plans to secure a number of automobiles in addition.”

The tree dedication of 1917 likely occurred during such an event. Fortunately, an origin story for the term “Hello, Bill !” appeared in the 1910 publication, An Authentic History of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks:

“William Goddard, of Minneapolis Lodge, No. 44, B.P.O. Elks, is the original ‘Hello Bill!’ of Elkdom, and this cheerful salutation which has found its way around the world, originated in Minneapolis during the Elks’ National Re-Union in that city in 1897. Brother Goddard is the junior partner of the Minneapolis firm Barnaby & Company. He has been for a great many years the treasurer of Minneapolis Lodge, No. 44, B.P.O. Elks, and was Chairman of the Finance Committee … [and] spent a great deal of his time at the Committee headquarters. When visiting Elks came to the headquarters to inquire about matters they wanted to know about, if they happened to meet anybody who was not fully posted, they were usually told to ‘Go over there and ask Billy Goddard,’ and it was a constant strain of ‘Billy can tell you,’ ‘See Billy, he knows,’ etc., etc. This was repeated so incessantly that the stranger Elks when they approached Brother Goddard, greeted him with the expression, ‘Hello Bill! I was told to see you,’ etc., and so the custom started of greeting each other ‘Hello Bill!’ In a day or two the custom spread to the streets, with Elks from all parts of the country, and passing each other they sang out cheerfully, ‘Hello Bill!’ and they carried the greeting back to their home lodges, and so it has spread around the ends of the earth.”

“In Honor of Visiting Elks,” Santa Cruz Evening News, July 16, 1909; An Authentic History of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks by Charles Edward Ellis in 1910.

CORINTHIAN YACHT CLUB TREE

In August 1911 a contingent of Corinthian Yacht Club members made their way down to the Santa Cruz Mountains. “The yachtsmen deserted ships today to participate in an overland trip to the big trees, where a sumptuous beefsteak breakfast was served under the monarchs of the forest … The yachtsmen all wore nobby sailor suits and brought with them flats and ensigns of the Corinthian Yacht club.” 

Author's Personal Collection

One of the large redwoods, which was selected the previous season, was dedicated with a ceremony and engraved, bronze plaque … “Dedicated July 29, 1910 to the Corinthian Yacht Club by the Commodore and Yachtsman.”  The festivities concluded with several hours of dancing. Judging from the postcard showing the tree, it appears to have been located on the Cowell’s Big Trees side of the grove.

Sources: “Corinthian Tars Desert the Seas,” San Francisco Call, August 12, 1911; postcard from Author's Personal Collection