Chainsaw Cuts Away 220-Year-Old Tree in Georgetown (Video)

Chainsaws and a crane dominated the landscape of Tudor Place, 1644 31st St. NW, Tuesday as crews from the Davey Tree Expert Company worked to cut down a 100-foot-tall, 220-plus-year-old historic white oak tree from the north property line of the Georgetown estate with ties to George Washington.

The tree had been leaning southward for years, but recently the Tudor Place's arborist and Director of Gardens & Grounds Suzanne Bouchard noticed soil fissures at its roots, which indicate failure, and the tree was leaning dangerously.

"Once the soil starts cracking that means the tree is considered a hazard because there is a higher potential for it to actually fall over," explained Bouchard. "With the summer storm season starting, we can't take the chance because of the fact of how large the target area would be and because it's over a main walk way."

Last year's summer storm season damaged the estate tree canopy including during the derecho when the top 30 feet was split off of a large tulip poplar tree on the corner. If the oak tree fell, it would damage the orchard and the rose garden and the east garden would be "smushed," according to Bouchard.

In the early years of tree surgery, arborists would clean out decay, put in a metal brace and then pack the area with cement with the hope the tree would grow over the cement, which the historic oak did. Bouchard said the oak had this procedure done in 1919 and they believe it now spans about 15 feet to 20 feet of the trunk.

The cement makes taking the tree down even more complicated than it already would have been. Initial estimates are that felling the tree piece, branch-by-branch (to avoid damaging nearby trees and other growth) could run $20,000 to $25,000 but it could be more. Bouchard said a lot of the costs depends on how and how long it takes the crew to remove the entire base of the tree; the chainsaws can't go through the concrete.

Once the tree is down, they will be able to determine its age by counting it's rings, though Bouchard said they believe the tree is original to the property.

The plan is to re-plant a new white oak tree in the place of the current tree.

“The loss of this majestic tree will reshape Tudor Place’s north landscape,” Tudor Place Executive Director Leslie Buhler said in a press release. “However, just as previous owners honored the site’s past while planning for its future, we will replace it with a new white oak in the fall.”

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