The 600-Year Old "Lord Howe Chestnut" Tree that Once Stood in Pelham

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

One of the most revered trees that ever graced our Town of Pelham was known as the "Lord Howe Chestnut."  Citizens of Pelham pointed to the monstrous chestnut tree and proudly proclaimed it to be at least 600 years old.  How (pun intended) the tree earned its name is fascinating.

The chestnut stood on the hill overlooking today's Friendship Field baseball complex behind the tennis courts near the southern end of the Glover Field complex.  That hill, which today has a parking lot (from which steps descend to Friendship Field), is located between the Hutchinson River Parkway and Friendship Field.  The chesnut tree was monumental.  Late in its life, its circumference was between 35 to 40 feet.  It stood 150 feet high -- the height of a 15-story building-- and had a spread of branches that was about 250 feet -- approaching the length of a modern football field.  

The "Lord Howe Chestnut," ca. 1900, in a Photograph Published in
1913.  Source:  Cook, Harry T., The Borough of the Bronx 1639 - 1913:

Its Marvelous Development and Historical Surroundings, p. 177

(NY, NY:  Published by the Author, 1913).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Google Maps Satellite Photograph with Yellow Arrow

Showing the Approximate Location Where the Lord

Howe Chestnut Once Stood on Hill Above Today's

Friendship Field and Tennis Courts Within the Glover

Field Complex.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The Museum of the City of New York maintains in its collections a lovely gelatin silver print of the Lord Howe Chestnut photographed in about 1900.  See Museum of the City of New York, Lord Howe Chestnut [Gelatin Silver Print] (visited Feb. 13, 2016).  

The Lord Howe Chestnut was named after General William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, who served as Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the Revolutionary War and who led British troops during the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.  General Howe's association with the American chestnut, though perhaps apocryphal, has been the focus of legend in Pelham for nearly two centuries and has been mentioned in books and articles.  There are, however, multiple versions of the legend.

1777 Mezzotint Depicting the Honorable Sir William Howe

After Whom the Lord Howe Chestnut Was Named.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The most common variation of the legend of the Lord Howe Chestnut says that a few days after the October 18, 1776 Battle of Pelham, while British and German troops remained encamped on both sides of old Boston Post Road (today's Colonial Avenue), Lord Howe gathered his officers and Loyalist citizens from the area and dined with them beneath the branches of the giant American chestnut tree.  According to tradition, on that occasion General Howe told his officers and Loyalist citizens that Loyalists should not be afraid because the American Rebels "were already beaten."

A second version of the legend says that Lord Howe and his officers actually paused during the Battle of Pelham to rest beneath the branches of the giant chestnut.  During their rest, according to this version of the legend, they had a brief lunch.  There is, however, a competing legend that claims that Howe and his officers invaded the David J. Pell home that still stands (and has been incorporated into the home known today as Pelhamdale, 45 Iden Avenue) and lunched on the Pell family's "last turkey" as the battle continued.  

A third version of the legend of the Lord Howe Chestnut goes like this.  After the conclusion of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 -- after British and German troops ended their pursuit of Colonel John Glover and his American troops when the Americans crossed the Hutchinson River where today's Colonial Avenue crosses the river -- the British and German troops set up camp on both sides of old Boston Post Road (today's Colonial Avenue) stretching from the Hutchinson River to the New Rochelle border.  According to this tradition, Lord Howe camped beneath the spreading branches of the massive chestnut tree that, forever after, bore his name.  

A fourth version of the legend was that General Howe and his officers conducted multiple conferences beneath the branches of the ancient American chestnut tree in the days following the Battle of Pelham while the British and German troops camped in the Manor of Pelham.  

Such entertaining stories, told by and to Pelhamites for nearly two centuries, ensured that the giant chestnut remained a venerated part of Pelham's proud history.  The Lord Howe Chestnut actually became a tourist attraction.  There are many photographs showing the tree, at an advanced age, with visitors standing proudly at its massive base.  

Lord Howe Chestnut with Unidentified Visitor

at its Base in 1900.  Photograph Courtesy of

The Office of The Historian of The Town of Pelham.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Lord Howe Chestnut with Notable Amateur Local

Historian Reginald Pelham Bolton at its Base on June 20,

1920.  Photograph Courtesy of The Office of The Historian

of The Town of Pelham.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

During the early years of the 20th century, however, the Lord Howe Chestnut died.  Thereafter, like the so-called "Pell Treaty Oak" on the grounds of the Bartow-Pell Mansion at about the same time, the giant chestnut lost most of its branches and also suffered through several fires that left it a shell of its former self.

What killed the Lord Howe Chestnut?  Though it had survived, until the time, for nearly 600 years, something seems to have changed.  Sadly, the answer is readily apparent.  

At the time, the American chestnut was susceptible to a devastating fungus known as "chestnut blight."  The blight was caused by an Asian bark fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica, formerly Endothia parasitica).  The fungus was accidentally introduced into North America on imported Asiatic chestnut trees. 

The disease was first noticed near Pelham on American chestnut trees in what was then the "New York Zoological Park," known today as the Bronx Zoo.  In 1904, right before the Lord Howe Chestnut first began to suffer, New York Zoological Park chief forester Hermann Merkel estimated that by 1906 the "blight" would infect 98% of the chestnut trees in the Bronx alone.  Our massive, 600-year-old historic chestnut seems to have been infected at about the same time.  

Despite the blight that led to its death, the Lord Howe Chestnut already had become so stitched within the fabric of Pelham legend that during the 1920s, when the local Boy Scout program decided to design and construct a cabin to be used by Pelham Boy Scouts, the site selected for the cabin was within a few feet of the 25-feet tall remnants of the chestnut.  

I have written about the Pelham Boy Scout cabin on a number of occasions.  See, e.g.:  

Tue., Jul. 19, 2005:  Pelham's Boy Scout Cabin Near The Hutchinson River Parkway.

Mon., Oct. 31, 2005:  Remnants of Pelham's Boy Scout Cabin Near The Hutchinson River Parkway.

Fri., Nov. 25, 2005:  The End of Pelham's Boy Scout Cabin Near The Hutchinson River Parkway.  

Built in 1925, the Pelham Boy Scout cabin once stood with the Lord Howe Chestnut on pristine and beautiful lands.  Even with the Hutchinson River Parkway nearby, the cabin was still in an idyllic location unmolested by the barrage of traffic that flows constantly on the Parkway today.  For about twenty years, the Boy Scout cabin was a meeting place for Pelham's Boy Scouts and was a source of pride for the entire Town of Pelham.  Standing next to the cabin, of course, were the ever diminishing remnants of the once massive chestnut known as the Lord Howe Chestnut.

Remnants of the Lord Howe Chestnut Adjacent to the Pelham

Boy Scout Cabin with Three Unidentified Pelham Boy Scouts

in Front on September 11, 1926.  Photograph Courtesy of The

Office of the Historian of the Town of Pelham.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge. 

By August 1928, it was clear that the remnants of the chestnut that were 25 feet tall and continued to tower above the Boy Scout Cabin were a risk to the safety of the young scouts.  A decision was made to cut down the remnants.  According to a report in the local newspaper:  "The stump was cut off five feet from the ground, leaving a suitable place for the Boy Scout organization of the Pelhams to affix a marker which will permanently establish it as a memento of the early history of the Pelhams."

During the mid- to late 1940s, as traffic continued to increase on the Hutchinson River Parkway, the Boy Scout cabin was used with less frequency and was repeatedly vandalized.  By 1948, it had burned to the ground.  Neither it nor any remnants of the Lord Howe Chestnut remained.  Indeed, all that is visible at the site today is the massive stone chimney of the Boy Scout cabin, covered with vines and vegetation, near the spot where Lord Howe and his officers reputedly dined nearly 240 years ago in the Manor of Pelham.

The Chimney of the Pelham Boy Scout Cabin

Near the Former Location of the Lord Howe

Chestnut.  Photograph by the Author Taken on

October 30, 2005.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Early Glass Negative Image of an Unidentified Painting of

the Lord Howe Chestnut.  It Would Seem, Based on the

Style, that This May Be an Image of a Painting by John Shinn.

Below is the transcribed text of a couple of brief references to legends of the Lord Howe Chestnut. Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

*          *          *          *          *

"In the woods not far from the large stone Pell mansion is the 'Lord Howe chestnut' beneath whose unbrageous branches Lord Howe and his officers lunched with a number of Westchester loyalists whom he had invited for the occasion."

Source:  Cook, Harry T., The Borough of the Bronx 1639 - 1913:  Its Marvelous Development and Historical Surroundings, p. 177 (NY, NY:  Published by the Author, 1913).

"Lord Howe Chestnut, where Howe and his generals lunched on Oct. 18, 1776, while resting during their pursuit of the Americans.  Some say that they lunched at the Pell House [i.e., the David J. Pell home that still stands and is incorporated into the home known as Pelhamdale at 45 Iden Avenue], taking the old lady's last turkey."

Source:  Comfort, Randall & Nash, George W., Excursion Planned for the City History Club of New York by Randall Comfort and Dr. George W. Nash:  No. IX -- Historic Bronx, p. 25 (NY, NY:  City History Club of New York, 1906).  See also Historical Guide to the City of New York Compiled by Frank Bergen Kelley From Original Observations and Contributions Made by Members and Friends of The City History Club of New York, p. 211 (NY, NY:  Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1909) (same text).

"General Howe's Tree Lowered For Safety To Scouts At Cabin
-----
Marker To Be Placed On Low Stump Remaining As Memento Of Revolutionary Days In Pelham
-----

For the safety of the lads of the Pelhams, who frequent the Boy Scout cabin on the Hutchinson River Parkway, it was necessary last week to cut down the stump of the famous General Howe's Tree, in the shadow of which the cabin was built.  James Reburn, superintendent of the Pelham division of the parkway, supervised the removal of the burned out stump which stood twenty-five feet high.  The stump was cut off five feet from the ground, leaving a suitable place for the Boy Scout organization of the Pelhams to affix a marker which will permanently establish it as a memento of the early history of the Pelhams.  Tradition has it that the English General Howe and his officers held any conferences under the spreading branches of the huge chestnut tree.

William R. Montgomery, who is well versed in the history of the Pelhams, estimates the tree to have been 600 years old when it died several years ago.  Since its death the tree has caught fire several times and branches were broken off until there was only a high stump left.  

Some idea of its size at its full growth can be gained from Mr. Montgomery's estimate that the circumference of the tree was between 35 to 40 feet, its height 150 feet and the spread of its branches 250 feet.

The site for the Boy Scout cabin was chosen because of its proximity to the famous tree, the stump of which stood at one end of the cabin, an imposing sentinel of the past over-shadowing the peacetime conferences of the youth of Pelham."

Source:  General Howe's Tree Lowered For Safety To Scouts At Cabin -- Marker To Be Placed On Low Stump Remaining As Memento Of Revolutionary Days In Pelham, The Pelham Sun, Aug. 17, 1928, p. 7, col. 3.  

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Paper Recounts Burial of the Bell of St. Paul's Church in Eastchester To Save it from the British During the Revolutionary War

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

On April 28, 1898, Charles Pryer read a paper entitled "The Old Historic Buildings of Westchester County" before The American Numismatic and Archaeological Society of New York City. Included in his paper was an account of the burial of the bell of St. Paul's Church of Eastchester during the Revolutionary War to save it from the British. The pertinent excerpt of the paper is transcribed below, followed by a citation to its source.

"We think most of us would have liked to have looked out of the upper window of the old Manor-house [the so-called "Pell Manor House" known today as Pelhamdale and located at 45 Iden Avenue] one morning toward the close of October, 1776. There on [Page 37 / Page 38] the flats, and on the Albany pike near the homestead, was drawn up the entire army of Sir William Howe for one last review, before marching to attack Washington, then occupying a strong position on Chatterton Heights, near the village of White Plains. This army of Howe's consisted of about ten thousand men, regulars and Hessians, and must have made a fine appearance on that fair autumn morning. Sir William and his staff, with some of the gentry of the neighborhood, lunched under a clump of old chestnuts, several of which are still standing. In this same vicinity and overlooking almost the same scene stands the old East Chester Church, erected some years before the close of the seventeenth century (rebuilt in 1765), and now a venerable and picturesque building surrounded by a spacious churchyard, in which lie buried many who were laid to rest when good Queen Anne was on the throne, and when the Indian arrow and the stone scalping-knife were oft seen in these parts outside the cases of a museum. The structure is of stone, and substantial rather than beautiful, as most of the edifices in this county are that were erected at this early period, but in over two centuries the old bell has never failed to ring at the proper time to call the people together, except on one occasion. Now let us examine into the cause of this omission of the time-honored signal of worship to give its accustomed warning. It was during the Revolution. Howe had driven Washington to North Castle and had himself returned to New York, leaving the section of the country lying between the two regular armies a prey to those irregular and disorderly bands known under the name of Skinners and Cow Boys. The former were nominally on the Continental side, while the latter favored the Royalists; both, however, robbed and plundered indiscrimately and without regard to the politics of their victims. It can readily be understood that they necessarily became the terror of the country, and that all valuables were kept out of sight. As the autumn of the momentous year 1776 declined into winter, and the snow covered the devastated and bleeding land, the people that still remained in their war-haunted homes gave up all their social gatherings and met their friends and neighbors only at the services in the old church.

It was a winter evening, the stars glistened on the snow-clad earth, and the ice-crystals gleamed in the frosty air. The voice of the priest at his vesper hymn floated out from the church upon the still night air:

Ore te per illum crucem
Quam tuliste tristem trucem, etc.

Scarcely had the last words died upon the lips of the speaker, when the doors of the church were violently burst open and a man, in semi-military apparel, rushed in, shoouting: 'Save your lives and property! The Skinners will soon be upon us!' The poor fellow was evidently much wearied from his exertions, and sank down in the nearest seat exhausted. The people gathered round him with a storm of questions: 'How long before they will be here?' 'Where did you see them?' etc.; but they did not waste much time in idle curiosity, and in a moment or two had decided upon a plan to save some of their effects. A few of the strongest went up into the belfry, unhung the bell, and let it down outside the church by means of the rope, then they scattered to their several houses and in an incredibly short time collected all their valuables of gold and silver and returned to the church. These articles, with all the coins in their possession, they put into the bell, and then a couple of the strongest men carried it, not without some difficulty, to a neighboring orchard, [Page 38 / Page 39] where with picks and shovels they dug a hole and buried their treasure, being careful to replace the snow on the spot, so that in the night and at a little distance, it looked as white as the rest of the ground. Scarcely had they returned to their homes before the marauders were upon them and many of the houses were searched, but as we know few things of value were found, so the desperadoes had to content themselves with taking all the horses and cattle they could get in the vicinity, and driving them to their camp.

There was one other singular fact, however, in connection with the old bell; among those who disposed of their coins and silverware at this midnight burial were two brothers, one a very respectable member of society, and the other a drunken ne'er-do-well; both, however, had put money in the general receptacle, and both were in a hurry to get it back in their possession, and by a singular coincidence they both decided to excavate the treasure upon the same evening. There was no connivance between them, as they were not on good terms, owing to the dissolute habits of one, as before stated. The drunken brother is supposed to have arrived at the spot first and started work, taking, as was his custom, drink after drink from a large black bottle that he always carried, until he was more or less under the effect of potations, though the cold air and the hard labor of removing the frozen ground prevented his becoming actually intoxicated. About the time he reached the bell containing the treasure a lantern appeared, evidently carried by somebody coming to the same spot, and, he naturally thought, upon the same mission. Before, however, he could collect his somewhat befogged brains, his brother appeared upon the scene, and immediately accused him of stealing the money. From this the quarrel soon became so heated that words led to blows, and the two men shortly grappled in a desperate struggle, the result of which was, the last comer, and the better of the two brothers, was left dead upon the ground, where he was found next morning by some of the near residents. Of course before long the entire neighborhood was aroused, and a search for the murderer made, but he was never seen more. The strangest part of the entire incident was, that the contents of the bell were not disturbed beyond the amount put in the general pool by the murderer. Even the dead brother's portion was left entirely intact. A few days after the old bell was re-hung in the church tower, and, so far as history is concerned, there is nothing to make us suppose that it was ever removed again."

Source: Pryer, Charles, "The Old Historic Buildings of Westchester County" in The American Numismatic and Archaeological Society of New York City List of Meetings Held and Papers Read Before the Socity Under the Direction of the Committee on Papers and Publications 1898-1899, pp. 37-39 (NY, NY: 1899).

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Images of The Lord Howe Chestnut That Once Stood in the Manor of Pelham

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Once a giant Chestnut stood in Pelham. For more than one hundred years Pelham residents knew that giant tree as the "Lord Howe Chestnut". They knew it by that name because, according to tradition, a few days after the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 British Commander Howe dined with his officers and Loyalist citizens beneath its branches. According to the same tradition, on that occasion General Howe told his officers and local citizens not to be afraid as the Rebels were already beaten.

The tree no longer exists. It once stood at the edge of today's parking lot on top of the high hill that overlooks Friendship Field in the Glover Athletic Complex. The local Boy Scout organization built a Boy Scout Cabin next to the tree. The giant stone chimney of that lovely cabin still stands -- covered with vines -- at the edge of the parking lot only a few feet away from where the tree once towered.

A brief reference to the tree appeared in a book published in 1913 along with a photograph of it. Additionally, the files of The Office of The Historian of The Town of Pelham have a number of photographs of the tree. Below is an excerpt from the book, followed by two images of the tree.

"In the woods not far from the large stone Pell mansion is the 'Lord Howe chestnut' beneath whose unbrageous branches Lord Howe and his officers lunched with a number of Westchester loyalists whom he had invited for the occasion. On the morning of October 23, 1776, Westchester County beheld a most magnificent pageant. Preparatory to pursuing Washington towards White Plains, Lord Howe drew up for review his entire army consisting of about 10,000 men each clad in his Sunday uniform. The soft green of the Hessians formed a charming contrast with the brilliant scarlet of the British regulars, while the bright arms of the troops glistened in the sunlight. After riding along the lines to inspect the army, Howe and his officers with the loyalist gentlemen, sat down at noon to partake of some refreshments. 'Let us hope, however,' we read, 'that the meal of these fine gentlemen was not spoiled by the presence of that rough old German, the Count Von Knyphausen, who tho a dashing soldier and a brave man, was no courtier and anything but a pleasant dining companion.'"

Source: Cook, Harry T., The Borough of the Bronx 1639 - 1913 Its Marvelous Development and Historical Surroundings, p. 177 (NY, NY: Privately Published by The Author 1913).

Source: Id.
Source: Courtesy of The Office of The Historian of The Town of Pelham (man standing next to the Chestnut trunk is Reginald Pelham Bolton).

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.