Many have seen it, but few know its history. It came to Washington State College in 1893, one year after the institute opened its doors. President V. Lane Rawlins says its home is his favorite place on campus.
It’s the Lowell elm, growing next to the Senior Bench, close to Hello Walk, on the west side of Bryan Hall.
Bob Smawley, of the WSU Alumni Association, said Harriett Bryan, wife of WSU President Enoch Bryan (1892 – 1915), planted the tree.
Before the Bryans came to Pullman from Harvard University, they toured the Cambridge, Mass., estate of James Russell Lowell, American poet, critic, and editor. She was given a “few tiny elm seedlings, which she nurtured during the 3,000 mile journey” to the WSU campus. “The Lowell elm is the adult of one of those seedlings,” Smawley said.
Adds Rawlins, “It is a beautiful tree, but more than that, it is a tie to the best of our tradition and history.”
During the Cougar Pride Days kickoff event, starting at 11 a.m. on March 26, the 110th anniversary of the planting of the Lowell elm will be celebrated on the west lawn of Bryan Hall. At that event, a new elm will be dedicated — a cutting from the historic Lowell elm that was planted in 1998.
Kappy Brun, WSU grounds supervisor with Facilities Operations, and Chuck Cody, plant growth facilities manager with the WSU School of Biological Sciences get the thanks for the new tree.
The Lowell elm is nearing the end of its life expectancy, and due to its historical significance, Brun and Cody decided to try and grow some plant material from its cuttings.
Cody took cuttings in 1993, applied rooting hormone, and started them in the School of Biological Sciences greenhouse on the roof of Abelson Hall. Eventually, a tree grew that was big enough to place in a large container. Over the years, he would move the container outside on the west side of Eastlick Hall every summer and into the glassed-in walkway between Abelson and Heald Halls for the winter.
By 1998, the tree was large enough and was, without ceremony, planted in the lawn near WSU Veteran’s Memorial.
