By Matt de Simone
Fincastle is a town known for history, but maybe not for its “grand champions.” Standing tall on the corner of Church and Academy streets, outside of Fincastle United Methodist Church in Godwin Cemetery, for what is believed to be centuries, is the grand champion Honey Locust Tree.
After an examination conducted by Virginia Tech Associate Professor of Urban Forestry Dr. Eric Wiseman last July, it was discovered that the tree remains healthy, but Wiseman recommended trimming the crown to relieve weight from some weak limbs and keep the tree thriving.
Last fall, a huge, live limb broke off the tree, and Wiseman indicated that that was one of the limbs that had concerned him. Fortunately, no cemetery headstones were damaged when it fell. Arborist Geoffrey Manning’s quote to properly trim the tree and perform other maintenance would cost Fincastle United Methodist Church approximately $3,400 to complete. The church is currently seeking donations for the tree’s crown receiving a trim.
“It is one of the original living legacies of Fincastle,” church member Eric Claunch said in a recent interview. “The estimated date is the tree was put in was about 1806 and that’s only about 30 years after Botetourt became a county.”
The tree was crowned grand champion in 1990 and for the next year, remained so. That is until another Honey Locust located in Michigan dethroned Fincastle’s champ, according to Wiseman. Interestingly enough, soon after Michigan saw a new grand champion Honey Locust crowned, that tree died which led to a Honey Locust in Maryland taking the title of co-grand champ, along with Fincastle’s. In 2019, Maryland’s grand champ was reported dead, leaving Fincastle’s Honey Locust as the nation’s sole grand champion tree. Noteably, the third largest honeylocust is also located at the top of the hill at Godwin Cemetery.
Photo courtesy of Eric Claunch
Discussions began last summer between members of the Fincastle community and Virginia Tech to evaluate the maintenance Fincastle’s tree needed. Wiseman, along with a couple of students, looked the tree over and determined the tree’s diagnosis, that it only needed a trimming to maintain its “health and vigor,” according to the evaluation.
Wiseman is also a representative of the Virginia Big Tree Program – a group that maintains a register of the three largest specimens of over 300 native, non-native, and naturalized tree species. The register includes information about each tree’s size, location, and unique characteristics. Each tree must be re-certified every 10 years to maintain its status in the register. The Virginia Big Tree Program is affiliated with the National Register of Champion Trees, which is administered by American Forests. Virginia has consistently ranked among the top-five states for national champion trees. To learn more, visit https://bigtree.cnre.vt.edu.
Fincastle UMC has received some local pledges for donations toward the full $3,400 estimate for tree crowning and other work, but these pledges cover less than 20% of the cost. Anyone wishing to donate to maintain the health of this champion tree can give to: Fincastle United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 63, Fincastle, 24090; memo line “Champion Tree Fund.”
