Name/Title
WPA writers project report on the E. K. Taylor Eucalyptus Tree, c. 1940Entry/Object ID
1998.363.1Description
ACC. NO 98.363.1
SUBJECT CATEGORY: EUCALYPTUS TREE
DATE OR PERIOD: CIRCA 1940
OBJECT: REPORT
DESCRIPTION:
TEN-PAGE TYPEWRITTEN REPORT, WITH BOI D- PRINTED CAPTION "WALKER, BY ASSIGNMENT, JANUARY 31". REPORT IS ON WHITE-COLORED PAPER
SIZE: L 11" X W 8-3/4".
HISTORY OF OBJECT:
TYPEWRITTEN REPORT ON THE E K TAYLOR EUCALYPTUS TREE THAT WAS LOCATED AT CENTRAL AVENUE AND PARK AVENUE, ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA. THE TREE WAS ORIGINALLY PLANTED BY DR GIBBONS. EK TAYLOR, FIRST MAYOR OF ALAMEDA (1907), WAS THE SON OF BISHOP WILLIAM TAYLOR OF THE METHODIST CHURCH. A TWO- PAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY IS ON THE BACK OF THE REPORT. REPORT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN PREPARED BY THE WRITER'S PROJECT, WPA; AND HAS BEEN IN THE COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM PRIOR TO 1971 AND HERETOFORE NOT OFFICIALLY CATALOGED.
DONOR:
UNKNOWN
CATALOGED: OCTOBER 31, 1998
————-
Transcript:
Walker
By Assignment, January 31
THE E. K. TAYLOR EUCALYPTUS TREE
Into California, land of summer, gold and snowcapped mountains; verdant valleys, fertile plains and mighty forests, came the lordly eucalyptus in the middle of the nineteenth century. (1) Tiny plants raised from seed brought in from Australia, flourished in the fertile soil of the San Francisco Bay Region. (2)
Captain Cook, eminent British navigator, discovered Australia and its adjacent islands in 1770, and brought to the attention of the world at large the aromatic "gum tree". In 1776, a French botanist named it eucalyptus, which is Latinized Greek, meaning "well hidden". Emphasized in this name is the marvelous concealment of the flower in the calyx. (4)
It is the globulus or "blue gum" variety which came so far from its native home to influence the landscape of California (5). Authorities are in sharp disagreement as to the manner of its entry into the state, and the year in which it came. Some say that the entrance of the eucalyptus into California dates from the early 1850s, when the seeds were brought into San Francisco and from there were distributed to the rest of the state when they were small plants. Others claim that it was as late as 1870. (5)
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However, the culture of the eucalyptus on the Encinal of Alameda began in 1863, when the most reverend William Taylor, Bishop of Africa, sent the seeds to his wife from Australia. (7)
The William Taylors came to California in the romantic days of forty-nine; drawn not by the lure of golden riches, but driven by the passion of his missionary spirit; not simply to convert the savage, but also to keep those who had knowledge of Christ forever on the right path. (8) Of him, Mr. W. W. Chipman, one of Alameda's co-founders, said: "If every man were as prompt and honest as Reverend William Taylor there would be no lawsuits, no ill blood, broils or quarrels." (9)
The Taylor's interest in agriculture was early shown when, immediately after they had bought property from Mr. Chipman and Mr. Aughinbaugh, in 1852, Mrs. Taylor began gardening.(10) It was two years later that Dr. William P. Gibbons, who later figured in Alameda history, bought property adjoining the Taylors. He too, was greatly interested in agriculture and the perpetuation of California's magnificent forests. (11)
Dr. Gibbons' interest in agriculture and forestry led him to the secretaryship of the Agricultural Society. He made many appeals to this society and to the academy of Natural Sciences, not only to protect the existing forests of California, but to introduce other varieties of trees which he felt would find a congenial soil and climate in this region. (12)
It was shortly after Bishop Taylor's arrival in Australia, in 1863, that he sent the gum tree seed to his wife in Alameda,
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showing that he too felt a deep interest in increasing the species in the forests of the golden state. (13)
Mrs. Taylor did not disappoint her husband. In a short time she was ready to distribute tiny eucalyptus plants among her friends and neighbors. It is chronicled that whenever she went driving or making friendly calls on the farmers of early Alameda, she always carried some little trees along, bestowing them on any farmer willing to try the experiment.
Among those who received seed from Mrs. Taylor was Dr. William P. Gibbons. (14) The extent of his interest in the eucalyptus prior to 1874, is not known, but in that year he planted the seed of the eucalyptus, -- later known as the E. K. Taylor tree -- in a corner of his yard at what is now Central and Park avenues. He did not dream that it was destined to become the most maligned tree in Alameda's history, nor that Mr. E. K. Taylor, son of Bishop Taylor, who watched him plant it, would one day encourage him to cut it down. (15)
It was Dr. Gibbons' idea to watch this tree grow strong, to see its graceful limbs towering against the blue sky, a noble specimen of its kind; to vie in beauty and stature with the mighty oaks of the peninsula. So grew the young tree for many years with no thought of the valiant fight its owner would be forced to make in order to prolong its life in its adopted clime.
During the years from 1863 to 1890, the Gibbons tree was not the only eucalyptus to prove its adaptability to the western soil and climate. Many thousands of blue gum trees were planted and
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transplanted as a commercial venture. Their rapid growth gave rise to possibilities of large profits and many uses for the eucalyptus wood. Although they later became unprofitable nuisances they were used extensively for windbrakes, groves, shade, and eucalyptus oil, as well as firewood and railroad ties. (16)
In spite of the unpopularity which developed in the nineties the eucalyptus is still the most conspicuous tree seen in a day's travel throughout the lowlands of the state. On desert ranches, seashores, valleys, plains and hilly slopes the stately eucalyptus bear witness to the hardihood of the species. (17)
As early as 1884, the eucalyptus became a source of annoyance to the people of Alameda. Their meandering roots absorbed the moisture from surrounding vegetation; their leafy branches shut off the sunlight and air from the streets and adjacent grounds. Many of the trees were pruned or cut down while others were taken up root and branch. The sewer system which had been laid but a few years before and was a source of pride and joy to the Alamedan, was affected by the errant roots of the invader from Australia. (18)
The Gibbons tree continued to grow strong and stately, unmindful of the war against its kind. Dr. Gibbons protested against the abuse of the trees; but to no avail. While he did not contend that all of the eucalyptus trees should be preserved, he proposed to keep one or two for the benefit of future Alamedans so that they might see it attain the dimemtions of those in their native heath.
The tree was not concerned with the petty doings of humanity when in 1889, the move began to widen Central avenue. In spite
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of the smoke of civilization it drew sustenance from sun and air; in spite of paved streets and boarded walks its roots were nurtured. Dr. Gibbons, however, could not trust its safety to nature and humanity. (19)
When asked to donate a portion of his property to the city for public use so that the street might be widened, Dr. Gibbons, in order to protect the tree, refused to relinquish his title to the strip. It was then that E. K. Taylor, city attorney, drew a deed containing the provision that in exposing that portion of his property to public use, he was not giving it to the city or risking his title. Central avenue was widened. Dr. Gibbons' tree swayed in the breeze while pedestrians were forced to walk around it. (20)
Three years passed --- three years of constant war against
the eucalyptus which had assumed a most unfortunate importance to the citizens of Alameda. Sidewalks were to be laid on Central
avenue. Progress knows no sentiment. The Gibbons tree appeared
doomed. (21)
Dr. Gibbons was prepared to fight from the moment the sidewalk movement began. (22) He appealed to the Municipal Board to allow the big tree to remain in the center of the walk. He presented a map to show how he would have a stone sidewalk laid around the base. This argument met with rabid disapproval, as the Board thought that since this procedure would necessitate the removal of the top roots the tree would be easily blown down.
The doctor requested that he be allowed to lay the walk by
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private contract. This was finally agreed upon with the stipulation that the work be done immediately and under the supervision of the street superintendent. When the walk was laid within a few feet of the tree the superintendent had a change of heart. He was adamant in his refusal to go on with the work until the tree was removed or permission was granted by the City Trustees to lay the walk around the tree.
In the meanwhile complaints against the tree continued to
come in. It was a menace to the sewers ... it shut out sun
light ... it presented a danger to the pedestrian ... it rendered all soil in close proximity unfit for other vegetation.... So shouted the critics!
Dr. Gibbons met these complaints unflinchingly, and stood
firm on the principle that the property on which the tree stood belonged to him and could not be disturbed without his consent.
When Mr. Mastick, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, asked him why he was so determined to keep the tree, he answered that he wished to protect it until it attained its natural dimemsions of 20 feet in diameter and 400 feet in height; that since this tree was the largest of its kind in Alameda, he intended to preserve it at all costs." (23)
Doubt arose in the minds of city officials as to whether Dr. Gibbons owned the strip of land where the tree stood. The city clerk was instructed to look up the record for the purpose of ascertaining exactly how the ten feet was acquired from Dr. Gibbons when Central avenue was widened. Although the document was not found at the time several people remembered that there
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had been such an article filed with the Board.
Finally, when E. K. Taylor, city attorney, found the deed
signed in 1889, the painful issue came to an end. For it proved to Dr. Gibbons satisfaction that the city had not the right to order his tree cut down; that he still retained the ownership of the property. (24)
The street superintendent was forced to continue the work and the stone walk encircled the tree. The eucalyptus held its head high, and in utter defiance continued to plant its roots more firmly into the sewer-veined earth and to shed strips of its bark on the heads of humanity. (25)
Dr. Gibbons lived to see his tree strong and sturdy in its twenty-third year of growth (26). In respect to his wishes or because Alameda had come to share his pride in its oldest tree, it was allowed to grow, unmolested, for almost a half century. (27)
There is no record in the city annals as to when or how this tree -- over which Dr. Gibbons staged his heroic fight -- came to be known as the E. K. Taylor tree. There is no evidence of any dedication to Mr. Taylor, first mayor of Alameda, whose father, Bishop William Taylor, gave to Alameda its first eucalyptus.
The tree grew in its adopted home until it towered one hundred and twenty-five feet, covering the corner of Central and Park avenues with a hundred foot spread;, its trunk diameter measuring nearly four feet. (29)
In 1939, the tree began its decline. Unable to draw enough
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nourishment from the cement covered earth or to absorb enough moisture from the rainfall on the plot of ground about lose the ravages of starvation took their toll.
Alameda had tolerated the tree for so long that she was loathe to let it die. The University of California Department of Forestry, was called upon to save it. Acting upon scientific advice, gravel-lined basins were constructed at the base of the tree to permit rainfall, air and minerals to penetrate the top 30 soil to its withering roots.
Even this extreme measure, however, failed to revive the Gibbons-Taylor tree. A little more than a year later, its strength ebbing fast, this monument to pioneer Alamedans gave up its struggle against the inroads of civilization.
November 30, 1940, dawned upon a gaping hole where for
sixty-six years stood the memorable eucalyptus tree. It had
been felled as a safety measure by order of the City of Alameda, (31).
Dr, Gibbons' dream for his tree to attain the spectacular dimensions of those of its native clime did not come true. Nevertheless, posterity will behold the commemorative plaque that appears in its place. The inscription on the plaque will forever remind them of Mr. E. K. Taylor, the first mayor of Alameda, who saw it planted. Bishop William Taylor and his pioneer wife will also be remembered for the keepsake gavels, pulpits and tabletops made from the wood of the old "gum tree", and distributed among many Methodist congregations. (32)
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
THE E. K. TAYLOR EUCALYPTUS TREE
1.
Ingham, Norman D. Eucalyptus in California (Bulletin No. 196., Berkeley, California: July, 1908). 114 pp. P. 29.
2.
Cleland, Robert Glass, and Hardy, Osgood. March of Industry (San Francisco, Los Angeles, & Chicago: Powell Pub. Co., 1929). 322 pp. P. 92.
3.
Cook, Captain James, The Voyages of Captain James Cook (London: William Smith 113, Fleet Street, 1842). 2 vols. Vol. I, P. 253.
4.
Cooper, Ellwood. Forest Culture and Eucalyptus Trees (San Francisco: Cubery & Co., Market Street, 1876). 237 pp. P. 17.
5.
Same as No. 1, P. 31.
6. Britton, Nathaniel Lord. North American Trees (New
York: Henry Holt & Co., 1908). 895 pp. P. 731.
7. Chipman, W. W. Chipman's Diary (One of the co-founders of Alameda).
8.
Taylor, William. Bishop of Africa 411 pp. P. 62.
Autobiography of William Taylor, (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1897).
9.
Same as No. 7.
10. Conners, Mollie, Pioneer Woman of Alameda County
(Clippings from Oakland Enquirer, April-May, 1921) P. 3.
11, Munro-Fraser, J. P., Historian. History of Alameda
County, California (Oakland: M. W. Wood, Pub., 1883). Illustrated. 1001 pp. P. 377.
12. Halley, William, The Centennial Year Book of Alameda
County, California (Oakland: Wm. Halley Pub. 1876). 586 pp. P. 229.
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13. Same as No. 10. P. 4.
14.
Alameda Argus. (Alameda, California, Dec. 6, 1877 - Sept. 30, 1912). Dec. 20, 1892.
15.
Encinal, The (Alameda, California, Sept. 1869 - Dec. 1906). Dec. 15, 1886.
16. Same as No. 2. Pages 91-92.
17. Same as No. 1. Pages 51-63.
18. Same as No. 15. June 18, 1884.
19. Same as No. 15. July 5, 1889.
20.
Alameda Times-Star (Alameda, California, Jan. 1909 +).
Oct. 25, 1940.
21. Same as No. 15. Nov. 12, 1884.
22. Same as No. 15. Nov. 18, 1885,
23. Same as No. 14. Dec. 29, 1892.
24. Same as No. 14. Jan. 5, 1893.
25. Same as 14. Jan. 10, 1893.
26. Harris, Henry. California's Medical Story (S.F.: The
Grabhorn Press, J. W. Stacy, Inc., 1932). 395 pp. P. 351.
27. Same as No. 14. Jan, 13, 1893.
28
Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif., 1874 + ). Dec. 2, 1940,
29. Alameda City Street Department. Interview
30. Taylor, E. K. E. K. Taylor Tree (Pamphlet Box, Calif. Ms. Alameda Library, 1939).
31. Same as No. 28. Nov. 30, 1940.
32. Same as No. 20. Nov, 30, 1940.
