Brattleboro Tree Walk
Whether you are interested in dendrology or just looking for an interesting walk; the “Treasured Trees” walk around Brattleboro is a scenic and interesting loop. The Treasured Tree Project, which was undertaken by the Brattleboro Tree Advisory Committee, was developed to highlight trees around town. After two years of research and work, the 2.25 mile walk, which stops at 24 Brattleboro trees, is complete.
At Forty Putney Road B&B, we are proud to have our large Japanese Maple included in the tour. The Maple was planted by the patients of the Vermont Asylum around 1930. In the 80 years since, it has grown to become one of the largest (if not the largest) Acer Palmatum in North America.
You can download a map and information about 9 of the trees on the tour (including our Maple) here as a PDF file. The Chamber also has some printed versions available.
Bob Audette from the Brattleboro Reformer recently covered the Tree Walk, here is an excerpt from their article:
People in the community submitted nominations for trees they thought should be included in the map, said Lynn Levine, project manager.
“It was a chance for the community to be involved in thinking about their trees,” she said.
“We did this because history has proven when people know about something they fall in love with it and take care of it,” said Helene Henry, chairwoman of the Tree Advisory Committee.
The committee received about 50 nominations from the community, said Levine.
Of the 22 trees featured on the walk, nine have descriptions written up in the map flyer. One of the nine, a tree located next to Wells
Fountain near Windham District Court, is a graft of a Camperdown Elm from Scotland, said Levine. Though she didn’t know when the elm was planted in Brattleboro, the original tree was planted in Scotland in the 1830s.Because the tree has an umbrella shape, said Levine, “It’s a great place for kids to hide.”
One of the more unusual discoveries for the committee, she said, was a small community space behind the American Red Cross building on High Street.
Several years ago, an ancient gravesite was unearthed there, belonging to the “Red-Painted People” who traveled through the area from about 5,000 to 1,000 B.C. The gravesite was established sometime around 3,600 B.C.
In the protected area there is a small walkway through the parcel that has several different trees in it, said Levine.
“It’s a refuge in the middle of Brattleboro. Not a lot of people know about it.”
The name of the parcel is the Grove Refuge.
In the backyard of the 40 Putney Road Bed and Breakfast is a very large Japanese Maple. The owners of the lodging establishment, Tim and Amy Brady, agreed to let the tree committee add the maple to the Treasured Tree Walk.
“They are allowing people to go and visit it,” said Levine.
“We believe it might be the largest Japanese Maple in North America,” said Tim Brady. It’s at least the largest in New England, according to an expert who took a look at it six years ago.
The 2.25-mile trail is “easy,” said Levine, and starts at the American Sycamore tree at Harris Place.
The Sycamore is like a beacon, said Brattleboro resident Chuck Hornsby, “reflecting the late afternoon sun off its light gray/white trunk and limbs. In the moonlight, it seems to glow.”
From Harris Place, the walk winds its way to Putney Road, Main Street, Grove Street, Oak Street and High Street.
“It’s a loop trail,” she said.
If you are interested in seeing our tree, please walk down the driveway and view from the parking area, or take the stone path to the lower gardens. There is no parking available at our inn for non-guests (sorry but we have a very small parking area).
