{"id":76950,"date":"2026-09-30T08:45:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T12:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=76950"},"modified":"2026-09-30T08:45:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T12:45:54","slug":"remembering-elms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/remembering-elms\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Cornell\u2019s Elms, Once the \u2018Mighty Monarchs\u2019 of the Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The grand trees long lined campus streets and dominated quads\u2014until diseases wiped them out in the mid-1900s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Joe Wilensky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For nearly a century, the American elm reigned supreme on the Hill. Hundreds of specimens of the stately tree shaded quads and lined campus avenues\u2014the shape of their verdant, blended canopies an integral part of the visual landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeautiful vase-form elms, in unbroken, parallel rows, completely overarch the roadway,\u201d Prof. O.D. von Engeln wrote in Concerning Cornell<\/em>, a popular campus guidebook of the early 1900s, describing a particular stand of trees along Central Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"towering<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"elms<\/figure>\n
Majestic elms created canopies above the Arts Quad and along Central Avenue in the mid-1900s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir graceful boughs frame a leafy vista,\u201d he continued in the era\u2019s flowery prose, \u201cthat leads the eye inevitably to the crest of a gentle slope where the quadrangle begins \u2026 an allurement suggesting other enchantments beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Their graceful boughs frame a leafy vista that leads the eye inevitably to the crest of a gentle slope where the quadrangle begins.<\/p>\nProf. O.D. von Engeln<\/strong>, in Concerning Cornell<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But by the late 1960s, the elms were in serious decline and were being removed, dozens at a time\u2014having succumbed to Dutch elm disease or another scourge, phloem necrosis, also known as \u201celm yellows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And by the mid-1970s, more than 1,000 mature elms on and around the Hill had been wiped out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a
A brand-new Willard Straight Hall faces an elm-lined Central Avenue in the 1920s. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the decades since, several varieties of hybrid elms resistant to the diseases, as well other tree species, have replaced the American elms on campus\u2014but, admittedly, they don\u2019t have quite the same grand presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cornell\u2019s loss mirrors the American elm\u2019s larger story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the late 1960s, the elms were in serious decline and were being removed, dozens at a time\u2014having succumbed to Dutch elm disease or another scourge, phloem necrosis, also known as \u201celm yellows.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Native to the Northeast, the species typically reached nearly 100 feet tall and could live for more than 200 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also tolerated urban conditions well and grew rapidly, its upper branches creating cathedral-like archways, making it the go-to choice for growing cities, towns, and campuses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"elm
The stately trees on the Ag Quad in the 1950s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the Hill, the Class of 1872\u2014the first full four-year cohort\u2014presented a double row of 72 elms as a graduation gift to its alma mater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were planted along what was then called the President\u2019s Walk, the pathway from the A.D. White House to the top of the Slope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Class of 1872\u2014Cornell’s first full four-year cohort\u2014presented a double row of 72 elms as a graduation gift to its alma mater.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And in 1877, local farmer John Ostrander gifted dozens of young American elms to the University. Planted along the full length of East Avenue (now Feeney Way), the \u201cOstrander Elms\u201d comprised perhaps the campus\u2019 most notable tree canopy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elms also lined Central Avenue, parts of the Arts Quad, and the Balch walkway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"elms<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n
Rows of elms formed grand arboreal archways above campus streets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the early 1900s, a dozen mature trees were even brought in by horse and wagon to be transplanted on the newly established Ag Quad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, it was that desirable canopy effect that led to American elms\u2019 extreme vulnerability to disease: typically overplanted, the closely spaced rows created a monoculture with low genetic diversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a
Daily Sun<\/em> stories traced the trees’ sad fate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This made it nearly impossible to stop the advance of Dutch elm disease\u2014a fungal pathogen, accidentally introduced in logs imported from Europe in the early 20th century and spread by bark beetles\u2014to entire swaths of trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the \u201960s and \u201970s, Daily Sun<\/em> headlines\u2014like \u201cTree Trauma: Trees Stricken with Dutch Elm Disease Are Felled in Front of the Straight\u201d\u2014traced the sad fate of the elms, which the paper called the campus\u2019s \u201cmighty monarchs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, the desirable canopy effect led to American elms\u2019 extreme vulnerability to disease: typically overplanted, the closely spaced rows created a monoculture with low genetic diversity.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Straight\u2019s famed Stump<\/a> was one of those elms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Felled along with other afflicted trees along Central Avenue in the late 1960s, it was left as a six-foot tribute to its departed brethren\u2014serving as a campus landmark, bulletin board, and soapbox for nearly a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"David
Cornell Daily Sun<\/em><\/figcaption>
Rallying protesters from atop the Stump during the 1969 Straight occupation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nationwide, it\u2019s estimated that 100 million elms were lost to the disease, reducing populations by up to 90% in some regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those losses \u201cgave rise to the urban forestry movement, where people really started thinking about diversity and different species,\u201d says Nina Bassuk \u201974, professor emerita of horticulture in CALS and director of Cornell\u2019s Urban Horticulture Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiversity is key,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen you have only one kind of planting, and some insect or disease comes in, it can wipe out the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"three
Today, hybrid, disease-resistant elms can be found outside the Biotechnology Building …<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"new
… on the Arts Quad …<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"a
… and alongside Teagle Hall, which is graced by distinctive \u201clacebark\u201d trees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For decades, Bassuk taught Creating the Urban Eden, a yearlong course on plant selection, soil modification, transplanting, and design. Her students planted diverse stands of trees and other flora across campus, including hybrid elms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, small groups of slimmer, hybrid varieties sit near the Biotechnology Building, alongside Teagle, and in other campus spots; one disease-resistant cultivar related to the American elm still grows behind Morrison Hall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Diversity is key. When you have only one kind of planting, and some insect or disease comes in, it can wipe out the whole thing.<\/p>\nNina Bassuk \u201974<\/strong>, professor emerita of horticulture<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, the Class of \u201980 funded a grove of disease-resistant elms on the Arts Quad as its 45th Reunion gift. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And many other species now populate campus; even the tree that the Class of \u201977 gave to replace the legendary Stump is a gingko, known for its resilience and disease resistance. But Cornell\u2019s American elms are still fondly remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two small stone markers\u2014one near Stimson, another close to the Engineering Quad\u2014commemorate the Ostrander Elms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"one
Markers that were installed shortly after the trees were planted now stand as memorials.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though shaped like small tombstones, they were installed shortly after the gift was made, standing as tiny bookends to the stately trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And a traditional song titled \u201cThe Hill,\u201d part of the University Chorus\u2019s repertoire, includes these lines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wake at night and think I hear remembered chimes, \/ And mem\u2019ry brings in visions clear, enchanted times. \/ Beneath green elms with branches bowed, in springtime suns.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Top: Young elms along Central Avenue, seen in a colorized postcard from 1907<\/em><\/em> (Wikimedia Commons). Vintage images by Rare and Manuscript Collections and current photos by Joe Wilensky \/ Cornell University, unless otherwise indicated.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published September 30, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Do you have memories of the campus elms?<\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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