Back From the Dead: A Giant Returns Home
The Fieldbrook Stump with 60 Little Sprouts on it (Ericson Collection, Humboldt State University)
Steve D’Agati, a Freshwater resident tells us how he was inspired by an article posted here on Redheaded Blackbelt to bring back a living Fieldbrook Giant to Humboldt County:
I knew about the historic tree…
David Heller’s story, A Fieldbrook Giant and the Astor Dining Table was a major break tracking this story down; and by doing so, he brought a living legacy back to Humboldt.
You may remember his August article posted here at the Redheaded Blackbelt: In 1896, one of the largest-ever known redwood trees in the world was unceremoniously cut down just outside the small town of Fieldbrook. Known as the Fieldbrook Giant from where it grew, or the Fieldbrook Stump after it was cut, it was a redwood the world would marvel over after hearing of its untimely demise.
The cutting of the Fieldbrook Giant captured the world’s imagination in newspaper stories from California to Europe. Redwoods were widely known throughout the world by this time, and the public was either enamored or dismayed by the falling of the Fieldbrook Giant. The base of the tree measured a colossal 32 to 35 feet across in diameter, and details of the tree’s age, height and circumference varied widely in sensationalist reports.
The Fieldbrook Giant was felled so a huge crosscut section of the tree—weighing in at 13 tons– could be shipped to England for the William Astor estate.
Drawing of the Astor Slab cut from the Fieldbrook Giant (San Francisco Call, January 15, 1899)
Supposedly William made a drunken bet that ‘trees in California were so large he could make a table seating 20 people around it.’ As the alleged story grew further, ‘the dining table sat 49 people’ around its tremendously wide girth and with space to spare.
William Astor, however, said the ostentatious story was untrue—and, demanding retractions, he’d sue any newspaper repeating it. Nonetheless, the weighty slab had been shipped from Humboldt to San Francisco, sailed around the Cape Horn to New York, freighted to London over two days, and arduously hauled up the Thames by a team of 16 horses to the Astor Estate. The slab now sits at the former Astor garden in Cliveden, now part of the National Trust. Surprisingly enough, there is also a crosscut section of the Fieldbrook tree locally on display– in Eureka at the Blue Ox Millworks.
Blue Ox’s Crosscut section of the Fieldbrook Giant. [Image from the Blue Ox]
I’d heard the rumor about the tree, too. Someone, many years ago, located the Fieldbrook Giant and extracted its still-living tissue. Through David Heller’s story, I found this was not only true, but the article contained the exact information I needed: David Milarch, a fourth-generation arborist, found the tree, extracted living cells or cuttings from its basal roots or shoots, and propagated clones of the Giant in his Michigan lab.
Milarch’s company, the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, finds, preserves, and propagates what they term rare ‘champion trees.’ A former biker, ex-heavy drinker, and nearly dead from renal failure on the operating table before being brought back to life, Milarch’s mission now is to preserve the genetics of these ancient old growth trees in “living libraries” before they disappear forever. The Giant was one of his missions. In fact, it was his very first cloning experiment.
Having David Heller’s information in hand, I contacted the Archangel company.
One of the cloned saplings ready for planting (Archangel Ancient Tree Archive)
Their website doesn’t readily indicate they give or sell any of their trees away to the public and their business model is unusual to say the least. But at least I had a lead.
An online search indicated the Fieldbrook Giant (or Stump, whichever you like), never made its way back to Humboldt. Had no one done this before? Talking to many residents of Fieldbrook, some remembered playing on the stump when they were young and now bringing their children and grandchildren to play on it, too. They were completely surprised to find out it still lives— albeit in clone form, and in Michigan.
I asked the Archangel company if they would send me the Fieldbrook clone. I assured them we had the right growing conditions and made the strong case of it coming home.
I waited. I contacted the company again several times. I heard very little, if anything, in reply. It just wasn’t looking good.
Then, in a sudden confirmation phone call, I was told they would indeed send a Giant clone.
It would be at the end of October, their only delivery window for shipping. I’d have to pay a small amount for Michigan inspection and treatment and the FedEx shipping. I’d have to be on the porch when delivery came, immediately take the tree out of the shipping box and give it some water, and promptly transplant it into the ground or a larger container. I readily agreed.
Then, almost haphazardly, I thought I’d go for broke. “Could you send me five trees?” I politely asked, the amount they said the state inspector would allow without getting too cranky. I thought this dicey last-ditch effort would nix things entirely. Apparently, it didn’t. Yes, they would.
“Get them into the ground and give them life,” Don Smith, the company volunteer, told me.
The five little trees arrived two weeks ago. Alive and well.
The Fieldbrook Giant– minus 1,750 years– returning home (Photo by Steve D’Agati)
They certainly didn’t look like behemoths. The 18-inch trees came in a packing container filled with Styrofoam peanuts and small air holes punched into the sides. ‘Live Trees’ were emblazoned on the box along with the State Inspector’s required paperwork.
I carefully took them out of the box, noticing their main stems were attached to supporting sticks and the fragile branches delicately taped for shipment. They were in surprisingly good shape. I brought them over to the barn for some water and slowly acclimatize them to natural sunlight. The following day I transplanted them into larger pots.
It’s taken the Archangel company 2 ½ years to grow these small trees from micro-cuttings to their 18” size. It will take another 1,750 years for them to grow as large as the original Giant did. I don’t think any of us will be around.
A label of ‘Stump’ authenticity (Steve D’Agati)
So now what? Where will these trees go?
Here’s the idea: I would like one of the trees returning to Fieldbrook. That’s very important. I’m looking for an individual or organization with a suitable site who would like it—and a place where the Fieldbrook community can see it. I haven’t decided on a spot yet. Do you know of one?
Another tree has been accepted by an exceptional organization in Eureka that I hope you will hear more about soon. [Note: the Blue Ox Millworks accepted the care of one clone this last Wednesday.*]
Steve D’Agati hands one of the seedlings to Eric Hollenbeck of Blue Ox Millworks. [Photo provided by Steve D’Agati from Blue Ox Millworks]
And still another will grow at an undisclosed location in Freshwater. As for the other two trees, I’m still undecided. I’m not sure where they will go.
Think of it. 120 years after being cut down and thought to be gone forever, The Fieldbrook Giant is back by a miracle of modern science. It’s almost like something out of Jurassic Park.
Thanks to
David Heller’s story in the Redheaded Blackbelt, The Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, and simple persistence, the Fieldbrook Giant (or Stump, whichever name you prefer) has returned,…I believe, for the first time to Humboldt County. Coming full circle, this wouldn’t have happened if not for this.
I thought the readers of Redheaded Blackbelt should be among the first to hear about this.
If you have any helpful suggestions or comments, please leave a reply. I would like hearing it.
Thank you,
Steve D’Agati
*Note: Steve D’Agati told us,
Eric [Hollenbeck of Blue Ox Millworks] also said he has the original saw used to cut the Giant down up in his rafters. It is quite the saw to see. It’s 20 feet long and was custom-made for the tree by the Holmes Lumber Company’s machine shop specifically for the Vance Lumber Company. It blew me away to hear he had the actual saw. Eric said it’s most likely it took two sawyers working 10-hour days for one week or more to fell the tree, and they may have used dynamite inserted into the tree to initially weaken its fibers for easier cutting and felling.Eric also told of the unusual transport of the slab to Blue Ox in his truck. He called the police for help because the slab overflowed five feet in each direction from the bed of his truck (affectionately named ‘Ophelia Bump’) and wasn’t sure how he was going to drive through town. He was sternly told by the police, “Don’t move! STAY RIGHT THERE!” Eric thought he was going to get busted for sure. He was worried. He was relieved to find out that they were giving him two police escorts instead, one in the front, the other in the back, all the way to Blue Ox. You gotta love small town Humboldt back in the day…
Further Information:
Odd, Old News: A Fieldbrook Giant and the Astor Dining Table
Archangel Ancient Tree Archive website
Archangel’s Blog of Going from Clone to Tree
National Geographic’s Short, Inspiring Piece on David Milarch: ‘Moving Giants’
Blue Ox Millworks and Historic Village
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Thanks Kym,
Great news, and awesome story!!
Now this is Humboldt!
Yes it was!
Awesome story! I’ve been meaning to cut some suckers off the big redwood stump next to Ray’s in Garberville before it is totally killed. It’s not as big as the Fieldbrook stump, but an old and noble one the less. One of Garbervilles oldest downtown residents, evicted without a second thought. I think kym did a story about it getting branches pruned, then the next day it was totally cut down.
That reminds me of the big walnut tree in the rays parking lot that they cut down in a similarly way decades earlier- they paved all around it, making you think they were going to keep it for much needed shade, but then all of a sudden they cut it right down. No respect. Arborcidal maniacs. Gross eerie store. I think I remember reading long ago that there really never was a grocery guy named Ray, that it was strictly a creation of Merrill lynch “a breed apart” to be able to help their corporate clients market their “food.” Whatever. Garbistan. Yeah that fat redwood on the north side was an awesome tree. I think I remember counting the rings on the stump and it wasn’t that old… This is the best tree growing land on earth. Good luck with the sprouts. Thanks for another great article.
And if it would take 1750 years for the tree to grow to full maturity than it would reach that age in the year 3769. What is the plan to assure some greedy lumber person doesn’t fall the tree before it reaching the objective. That’s about 35 generations. The ground it will call its final home would have to be legally protected. A lot of changes will have happened including the serious climate change. In the past 500 years there were no legal property owners. Since then there have been hundreds. How many more in the next 1769 years? That’s if people would even have survived the next 1000 years. But that could be the best scenario. A huge beautiful Redwood and no one around to appreciate it majesty. It would live and die on its own ground.
Trees deserve to exist even if there is no one around to “appreciate its majesty.”
The saw is a fantastic tool to still have, a complete marvel of technology and human determination to overcome and create.
Having these clones and the saw is a wonderful story.
Imagine in fifteen hundred years the saw being used again to complete the cycle and begin the process of reforestation again for all to see.
Disney should make a movie about this….
That would be a very dark and misguided cycle to perpetuate.
Agreed. Life is the cycle, no saw needed to complete it, just peace and Time!
Have you seen the movie Avatar…..
It’s close to this story.
They should put the other two in the Redwood parks: one in Redwood National Park and one in Redwood State Park
State park would be worst place for it! Needs to be on private land to help protect it against burl hunters, graffiti artist, ground traffic and tree sitters. Way cool story though. Love it! Noah’s ark of the redwood tree, only another 4,567,776,989 species to go! Countdown to extinction was begun….
What makes you believe the saw will be available in the year 3520? And since the people who operated the saw in the past 70+ years not one worked for a company that clear cut in areas like Bald Hills and replanted Redwood trees. Not One!! The only Redwoods left are in parks and they will be gone in the future. Because Redwoods have not been replanted the mighty redwoods will be like some birds, fish and other critters of the past and future……….EXTINCT!
I planted a couple hundred thousand redwood trees, back in ’77, ’78, and ’79. They’re logging them, now.
All of the trees you can see on the hills around here have either been planted, or sprouted back from the roots of cut redwood trees.
Redwoods have been around for millions of years, through droughts, and ice ages. While it’s true that commercially old growth redwood is extinct, the tree itself is a long way from dying out.
I,am groot!!
I would like to thank David Heller for telling history stories no matter how distasteful, this is a good example of why each story can be important. What would have happened if this story was quashed because of its inclusion of thoughtless people killing redwoods. History can sometimes be painful.
Thank you Steve D’Agati, and arborist David Milarch for preserving history.
Interesting that there was or are live cells to extract, yet the actual stump has not regrown spouts?
Usually a cut redwood forms a ring of stump sprouts. Does anyone know why this tree didn’t regrow it’s self from the original stump?
Maybe it’s not too late, fence out the cows or whatever and start watering the stump with bat guano and that thing would grow faster than weed !
…”found the tree, extracted living cells or cuttings from its basal roots or shoots…”
Sounds like these are cuttings of a cutting, taken from the regrowth/shoots found on the stump.
That is so amazing I hope someday to see one of these little babies thank you for it
A positive and wonderful story about history and caring about returning life to a giant tree, times 5! Thank you to all involved. The story warms my heart, and reminds me we can do so much more than tear each other apart.
I think the book” The Golden Spruce” should be required reading for all loggers, mill workers, and folks that live in the timber communities. Should be part of school curriculum. Trees are much more then inanimate objects, and are legends in their own right.
TM
I read “The Golden Spruce”. The book has outstanding history content about the northern Indians and a good lesson in logging responsibly.
However, the timber industry still provides the most important product known to man. Trees grow on sunshine, clean water, and good soil. Trees don’t need chemicals, and can be harvested responsibly. They provide lumber for housing, many important byproducts, and the lumber sequesters carbon. So many win, wins that it makes a person wonder why people wouldn’t be fighting for the timber industry.
My only advice would be to insist on responsibility for the timber companies. We need the product. I don’t know of a single person who hasn’t used lumber.
Hopefully we can agree that the few remaining old growth trees should remain standing for the rest of their natural lives. They’re so critically important for future forests. There’s plenty of younger trees, and there are new ways to use wood and other fibers for our purposes. But the ancient ones need and deserve protection.
I recommend “Barkskins” by Anne Proulux.
Remind me again where, and what kind of “home”, you live in…
There are sustainably managed forests in europe that are 500 to 1000 years old based on sustainable timber harvesting techniques such as pollarding and coppicing. Instead of clear cutting and taking the biggest oldest trees .
This is so wonderful and heartening, thank you Steve for your inspiration and “simple persistence”!
…. how the Legend of the Fieldbrook Giant has grown! Generations of school children are going to love these trees. Well done sir.
The city ofEureka nought land in the Mckay tract which could use all the replanting that can be mustered.
Kym. Thank you for your perseverance and the story. It is both sweet & sad.
This story actually made me sad. Men are so thoughtless and greedy. Cutting the trees, including the tallest and largest , by means of dynamite and custom crafted saws. Didn’t they think twice at any point during the alleged 70+ hours they went at destroying this treasure? What the hell. Those guys were probably cousins of the men who were busy killing all the whales. While I am encouraged by the fortitude of Steve who tracked down these clones, and the mission of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, it seems a shame all the damage done.
“cousin’s and whales”? Really?
Really. 2 centuries of unrestrained killing and consumption. Whale oil lubricated the industrial revolution. Those forefathers of ours were killing whales and chopping down ancient trees like there was no end for decades on end. Did no one object? Maybe a woman cared but she was basically property, so her concerns were silenced. I’m bummed at so much destruction , poison and plunder that is already on the scene here on amazing Earth, the day we are born .
Anon of course this sounds horrible to us today, but your inability to imagine the struggles of history speaks to your spoiled upbringing based on the fruits of their labor. Go out there and do something productive rather than condemning your ancestors
Hmm funny you point to privilege and blindness. That seems to be the cause of a lot of this planet’s ills. It’s grossly obvious that our ancestors don’t need me to condemn them, they did a fine job of condemning themselves! And their collective mad quest for dominion and wealth condemned their future relations to an Earth in peril! You call it the “struggles of history.” I call it shortsighted greed. And while you assume I’ve no energy for productive tasks, you have to admit that doing something “productive” when faced with hundreds of years devoted to the destructive is daunting, and unfortunately we are pitifully ineffective at restoring the glory.
🌎🌍🌏🌲🐋🐳🐋🌲🌍🌎🌎
Thank you.
Thank you for being clear and honest.
I am with you, Anon.
Steve D’Agati, please consider Humboldt Botanical Garden. Thank you.
Love the trees, don’t cut them down!
What about at the Sequoia Park Zoo!? It wouldn’t be cut down!
Let’s not forget to thank Steve D’Agati for all the work and time he put in to get these clones back to the community. Without him, this wouldn’t have happened! Thank you Steve! You did a good thing!!!!! Kudos.
This is and Still is my family property where I grew up. 🌲🙂
You’re Dad is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met!
I think one should go to the property owners of the stump! Put it back where it came from. That stump is a huge part of my childhood as my best friend’s family own the property it is located on. We have a lifetime of memories playing, adventuring and loving that giant stump. Let’s see its clone return home. Marcia Daley, you should get them in contact with your dad. Love this article and the potential for rebirth.
I have a friend who has 40 acres in Fieldbrook. If they were willing to take it (and they probably would), it would remain in Fieldbrook until it surpasses its former retirement age. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like me to contact them. He has a Ph.D. (in one of the sciences, I believe). She was a hydrologist. They have a deep appreciation for nature, and I bet they would be willing to give this tree a home. Question though: Where is the actual stump pictured at the top of the article?
Why not give one to Bill, the owner of the property on which the stump sits? I gaurentee he would appreciate and take care of it.
I agree 100%. Bill has preserved and beautified that stump with a pond and careful TLC over his lifetime there.
A really soul satisfying project to help the Fieldbrook live on. Great writing with very interesting facts. Archangel Ancient Trees has gifted the Fieldbrook cloned tree stump to 7 Countries. England, Whales, NZ, Australia, Canada Germany. Your mighty namesake will endure and live on.
And your work is amazing, thank you David! “Many hands make the work (of saving Gaia) light”!
William Waldorf Astor was American, born in NYC. He built and ran hotels, the most famous of which is named after himself. An inheritance from his father in 1890 made him the richest man in the world. He moved to England, where he became a publisher and philanthropist. He was a very large, wealthy fish in a very small, broke-ass pond. He wasn’t offered a peerage until 1916, three years before he died, so no, not an English nobleman.
And that’s just from wikipedia, which the reporter could have accessed on her phone.
There are only about 6 or 7 ancient groves left on the planet. They are a million years old, no shit. These beings filter the soil, air, and water in huge volumes essentially making all pure and clean once again.
Anyone who harms them does great damage. You could plant acres of trees and still not equal just a single giant redwood. On top of that they are beneficial to the human aura and can clean that too, no shit.
Love them for they are sentient and very aware as are all large trees that live in groves.
I had a stump 16+ feet across that I removed…it had a “sucker” growing off it in really bad shape… Wish those in the past could have realized the mistake of cutting them down was..
But here we are 100+ years going full blast building huge cities and growing things unsustainable still… Maybe one day we’ll vote out the current in control parties to one that actually give a crap about whats best for humanity and not sound bites.
but people like their “free” stuff!
the tallest redwood also grew up in the fieldbrook valley. it blew over in a storm in 1903 because there were no trees left standing around it. fieldbrook was home to all the giants. a combination of warmer coastal weather and shallow groundwater in sand lenses. I recommend planting it somewhere near where it grew. it will die on the marsh fringe. king tides have been flooding that area in the past few years.
Maybe people who are aghast that the giant redwood tree was cut down should read another Redheaded Blackbelt article about the cutting of old growth trees at Rainbow Ridge that is going on right now.
https://kymkemp.com/2019/11/16/letter-writer-describes-protests-this-week-against-logging-the-rainbow-rainbow-ridge-area/
To be clear, that is not an article, it is a letter to the editor.
Now your really growing trees. 🌲
Perhaps a school near one of the trees could have a naming contest? (“owner” of the tree permitting)– just a thought.
Pretty sure Sequoia Redwoods and Orchids out of Fortuna would or could do the same thing with cloning the tree.
I think Fieldbrook School would be a great place to plant it, and it would be an amazing history and ecology lesson about something that happened in their own back yard. If the kids understand and take ownership of it, the community will be more likely to care for it.
Another option is planting it back next to the stump it came from. Probably better odds for surviving, and would be pretty special for Bill and family.
Great job Steve D’Agati! We have a lot of old growth stumps on our property and I used to get down thinking about the harvest of those trees. More recently I realized that “new” trees growing from their roots must have the original DNA and enjoy them so much more.
it is the same tree as it uses the same root system. i have a massive stump with over 30 second growth trees growing from it ranging from 10 inches to 5 feet in diameter. its roots are in the creek bed and is the largest of all the second growth on my property and was probably the largest old growth in the area prior to 1893.
Cutting down that tree is like killing God.
Thank you everyone. I’ve read each and every comment you’ve written and given it some deliberate thought. This has been a tremendous help and there were many great suggestions taken in for consideration. This is the most likely scenario of what I think should happen.
One of the Giant saplings will be offered to Bill, the private landowner of the Fieldbrook Stump. Bill is a kind and well-loved person in the community, gave permission for the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive to take the original cuttings back in 1996, and has the best, optimal growing conditions of where the Giant grew. And the small sapling can be close to it’s mother tree, a coming home of sorts. Thank you, Marcia, Joe, and Mikell for stepping in on his behalf. It seems like the apparent and right thing to do after reading your comments.
I’m also thinking a second tree now needs to return to Fieldbrook, to a location where everyone can see it grow. There are a couple of sites in mind but nothing quite firmed up yet.
I want to thank you for your great suggestions, all. I wish I could respond to everyone here but just understand that what you said was very helpful. It meant a lot. You know who you are!
I’d also like to thank those residents of Fieldbrook who kindly gave me their time and help when asking about what to do. A special and beautiful community with good people, Fieldbrook truly shines as much as the Giant once did.
Thank You Steve ~ you have reached many people with your generous actions. We also appreciated reading all the comments. We at Blue Ox will be very carefully monitoring our treasured little tree. Blessings! ~ Viviana Hollenbeck
Steve – thanks for all of your efforts on this great project! If you still have a sapling available College of the Redwoods would be honored to be its home for all the community to visit and appreciate. I know our students in forestry, agriculture, and the sciences would find this valuable as part of their learning experience at CR. You can reach out to the CR Foundation if you are interested.
Steve—
We discussed this last night at our Fieldbrook School Board meeting. We would love to host one of the clones at the school and make it a curriculum topic in the future. You could contact our superintendent Justin at the school directly if you like this possibility or reply to me.
I think it is great that one is going back to Bill’s property, that’s very fitting, and he’s one of the best human beings I’ve ever known.
Here’s the final update:
One tree will be returning back to Bill, the private landowner of the Fieldbrook Giant, to be planted next to its mother tree. Curiously enough, none of the original clones have ever made it back to here.
The second tree will be at the Fieldbrook Market for a short time in its large container, on display so Fieldbrook residents and the public can see it. It will then make its way down the street to the Fieldbrook Elementary School for later planting into the ground. It will used as part of the school’s curriculum.
Thank you to all who made comments and suggestions. I read every one with careful consideration and thought.
For everyone wanting a tree, I would suggest you contact the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive and simply ask for one. You may have to be (kindly) persistent and wait until they have a shipping window. Here’s their address:
Archangel Ancient Tree Archive
16884 Front St.
Copemish, MI 49625
Email: [email protected]
There is also a ‘Contact Us’ box on their website:
http://www.ancienttreearchive.org
Lastly, their phone is: +1 (231) 378-4400
Good luck, and thank you all.
Steve, your story moved me literally to tears. I have visited the Redwoods around Eureka and Crescent City several years ago after dreaming of doing so for decades. The experience was very humbling and something I will never forget. Thank you so very much for your contribution! It is wonderful to know there are individuals like you!
I was lucky enough to receive 3 little clones of the Fieldbrook Stump from David Milarch in 2013. They are doing marvellously well. The largest is around 20 feet tall, and their rate of growth is phenomenal.
They are planted beside an ornamental lake, and should grace this estate for many, many years to come. Alan Morriss
Lord Astor is dead , and largely forgotten.The wonderful tree which he destroyed in an unparalleld act of vandalism is far from dead There are clones of this beautiful tree growing all over the World where conditions are suitable. So, who won ?