The Natural Land Institute (NLI) Legacy Tree Program, with monthly tree recognition, continues to highlight trees of historic significance, with interesting stories, and to find very large trees that qualify for the Illinois Big Tree Register. This month’s tree is no exception; it scores as a local State Champion tree.
The February Tree of the Month is an Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) located in the historic Phillips Cemetery on Bates Road, just south of Freeport Road, in Rockton, IL. Dimensions are 98 feet tall, 57.5 feet average crown spread, and 176 inches in circumference (14ft, 8” around!)
After a Natural Land Institute (NLI) program was given to the Rockton Township Historical Society, by Executive Director Alan Branhagen, Board member Jerri Noller said there were large trees in Phillips Cemetery that should be looked at for inclusion in the Legacy Tree Program. Two significant trees, a hackberry and this white pine, were confirmed as having legacy status. They were measured by NLI Trustee and volunteer Howard Knodle.
Growing up in Rockton gave Noller extensive knowledge and connections to the people of this community and cemetery. Jerri was appointed to the Rockton Township Cemetery Board as a Trustee in 1996. In 2000 the Board was dissolved, and management of this and other cemeteries transitioned to the Township Board Supervisor and Board. Noller was hired as Bookkeeper for Phillips Cemetery and worked with the Sexton until 2005, when the position was vacated. She was then appointed as Sexton and held the position until 2019.
There was some storm damage to trees at Phillips Cemetery. Jerri hired a tree contractor to clean up the damage; they estimated that some trees were probably aged 150 years or more.
Noller said, “I was astonished at the girth of several of them! They were just beautiful. I think that because for many years there had not been many burials in the cemetery, roots had not been disturbed, and that contributed to the life and longevity of the trees. I believe there are 275 burials in Phillips Cemetery at this time.”
Phillips Cemetery, southwest of Rockton, was officially formed on June 20, 1865, on land purchased by Rockton Township from Benjamin Phillips. This legacy white pine was probably planted soon after the cemetery was formed. The cemetery was referred to as Old Settlers cemetery, as it was on the wagon train trail. Many buried there were those who died on the way to the West; many were children. In fact, headstones in this cemetery indicate this site was used as a burial place, before it was officially formed in 1865. Several headstones have death dates of 1841.
The region’s first white settler and founder of Rockton, Stephen Mack, was buried in Phillips Cemetery, as well as his wife, Hononegah. However, their story isn’t this simple. According to historical records:…they were buried in a cemetery which is near the present Macktown Forest Preserve Golf Course Clubhouse. It is marked by a boulder with a memorial plaque. In 1880 the Mack estate was owned by Sylvester Smith. The cemetery was in such poor condition that Smith announced that he intended to plow the site under, and if anyone had family buried there, they had better move them soon. The Macks were moved to Phillips Cemetery. In May 1964 the Executive Committee for the Forest Preserve decided that Rockton’s founding father should be buried next to the Mack home and announced that they were moving their remains back to Macktown. There was a storm of protest by the descendants of the people who had moved the remains in 1880. The Forest Preserve waited until the dead of night of July 23, 1965, when they exhumed their remains and reburied them near Mack’s home.
Eastern White Pine was originally native to Winnebago County but only one sapling from the remnant wild trees remains in the Natural Land Institute’s Howard D. Colman Dells Nature Preserve. The largest stand of them was along Hall Creek, in what is now this preserve and adjacent Severson Dells Forest Preserve. Those were logged away for their valuable timber upon settlement. Historic photos also show native white pines along the lower cliffs of Kent Creek, where Tinker Swiss Cottage now stands.
Eastern White Pine was one of the most important trees to western civilization. It was the tallest tree in the British empire, growing to astounding heights of at least 225-feet in New England. These straight towering trees were claimed by the King of England as masts for the Royal Navy and gave its ships superior power as 90 feet were the tallest trees from the Baltic at the time. It’s hard to imagine felling these monstrous trees (many shattered) and then hauling them by oxen to the coast. Many an ox was strangled as they traversed the hilly terrain. In many ways, the King’s claim to these trees was the cause of the American Revolution.
Eastern white pine remains one of the best evergreen trees for planting in sustainable landscapes in Northern Illinois. Their primary use was for windbreaks on the prairie. It was a smart move, because evergreens’ wind-blocking ability significantly reduces heat loss on buildings sheltered in their wake. The tree has very high wildlife value, with cones filled with nutritious seeds. A good diversity of insects feed on the needles to start the web of life around us.
Remnant native white pines are few and far between in northern Illinois, with the largest stands in Ogle County. It is usually thought of as a Northwoods tree (common in the northeastern half of Wisconsin) but white pines grow southward into northern Georgia along the Appalachians. Outlying isolated remnants in our area exist as far south as Starved Rock, and they are equally scarce in isolated remnants in adjacent Indiana and Iowa. The tree requires bare mineral soil to germinate, so occasional fire and exposed rock outcrops are key to its survival in our region.
For additional information about the history of Phillips Cemetery and to see this story with photos, visit NLI’s website here: https://www.naturalland.org/eastern-white-pine-in-historic-phillips-cemetery.