Once an icon, the functionally extinct American chestnut tree could be restored More than a century ago, nearly 4 billion American chestnut trees grew in the eastern U.S., dominating forests from Maine to Florida. Wood logged from the massive trees helped build the country and was used in everything from homes to railroad ties. Its famous chestnuts fed animals and people. Then, about a century ago, disease wiped out virtually all the trees. Chip Reid reports on how a Virginia farm is trying to restore the mighty chestnut.