Steve D’Agati, a Freshwater resident tells us how he was inspired by an article posted here on Redheaded Blackbelt to bring back a living Fieldbrook Giant to Humboldt County:

I knew about the historic tree…

David Heller’s story, A Fieldbrook Giant and the Astor Dining Table was a major break tracking this story down; and by doing so, he brought a living legacy back to Humboldt.

You may remember his August article posted here at the Redheaded Blackbelt: In 1896, one of the largest-ever known redwood trees in the world was unceremoniously cut down just outside the small town of Fieldbrook. Known as the Fieldbrook Giant from where it grew, or the Fieldbrook Stump after it was cut, it was a redwood the world would marvel over after hearing of its untimely demise.

The cutting of the Fieldbrook Giant captured the world’s imagination in newspaper stories from California to Europe. Redwoods were widely known throughout the world by this time, and the public was either enamored or dismayed by the falling of the Fieldbrook Giant. The base of the tree measured a colossal 32 to 35 feet across in diameter, and details of the tree’s age, height and circumference varied widely in sensationalist reports.

The Fieldbrook Giant was felled so a huge crosscut section of the tree—weighing in at 13 tons– could be shipped to England for the William Astor estate.

Supposedly William made a drunken bet that ‘trees in California were so large he could make a table seating 20 people around it.’ As the alleged story grew further, ‘the dining table sat 49 people’ around its tremendously wide girth and with space to spare.

William Astor, however, said the ostentatious story was untrue—and, demanding retractions, he’d sue any newspaper repeating it. Nonetheless, the weighty slab had been shipped from Humboldt to San Francisco, sailed around the Cape Horn to New York, freighted to London over two days, and arduously hauled up the Thames by a team of 16 horses to the Astor Estate. The slab now sits at the former Astor garden in Cliveden, now part of the National Trust. Surprisingly enough, there is also a crosscut section of the Fieldbrook tree locally on display– in Eureka at the Blue Ox Millworks.

I’d heard the rumor about the tree, too. Someone, many years ago, located the Fieldbrook Giant and extracted its still-living tissue. Through David Heller’s story, I found this was not only true, but the article contained the exact information I needed: David Milarch, a fourth-generation arborist, found the tree, extracted living cells or cuttings from its basal roots or shoots, and propagated clones of the Giant in his Michigan lab.

Milarch’s company, the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, finds, preserves, and propagates what they term rare ‘champion trees.’ A former biker, ex-heavy drinker, and nearly dead from renal failure on the operating table before being brought back to life, Milarch’s mission now is to preserve the genetics of these ancient old growth trees in “living libraries” before they disappear forever. The Giant was one of his missions. In fact, it was his very first cloning experiment.

Having David Heller’s information in hand, I contacted the Archangel company.

Their website doesn’t readily indicate they give or sell any of their trees away to the public and their business model is unusual to say the least. But at least I had a lead.

An online search indicated the Fieldbrook Giant (or Stump, whichever you like), never made its way back to Humboldt. Had no one done this before? Talking to many residents of Fieldbrook, some remembered playing on the stump when they were young and now bringing their children and grandchildren to play on it, too. They were completely surprised to find out it still lives— albeit in clone form, and in Michigan.

I asked the Archangel company if they would send me the Fieldbrook clone. I assured them we had the right growing conditions and made the strong case of it coming home.

I waited. I contacted the company again several times. I heard very little, if anything, in reply. It just wasn’t looking good.

Then, in a sudden confirmation phone call, I was told they would indeed send a Giant clone.

It would be at the end of October, their only delivery window for shipping. I’d have to pay a small amount for Michigan inspection and treatment and the FedEx shipping. I’d have to be on the porch when delivery came, immediately take the tree out of the shipping box and give it some water, and promptly transplant it into the ground or a larger container. I readily agreed.

Then, almost haphazardly, I thought I’d go for broke. “Could you send me five trees?” I politely asked, the amount they said the state inspector would allow without getting too cranky. I thought this dicey last-ditch effort would nix things entirely. Apparently, it didn’t. Yes, they would.

“Get them into the ground and give them life,” Don Smith, the company volunteer, told me.

The five little trees arrived two weeks ago. Alive and well.

They certainly didn’t look like behemoths. The 18-inch trees came in a packing container filled with Styrofoam peanuts and small air holes punched into the sides. ‘Live Trees’ were emblazoned on the box along with the State Inspector’s required paperwork.

I carefully took them out of the box, noticing their main stems were attached to supporting sticks and the fragile branches delicately taped for shipment. They were in surprisingly good shape. I brought them over to the barn for some water and slowly acclimatize them to natural sunlight. The following day I transplanted them into larger pots.

It’s taken the Archangel company 2 ½ years to grow these small trees from micro-cuttings to their 18” size. It will take another 1,750 years for them to grow as large as the original Giant did. I don’t think any of us will be around.

So now what? Where will these trees go?

Here’s the idea: I would like one of the trees returning to Fieldbrook. That’s very important. I’m looking for an individual or organization with a suitable site who would like it—and a place where the Fieldbrook community can see it. I haven’t decided on a spot yet. Do you know of one?

Another tree has been accepted by an exceptional organization in Eureka that I hope you will hear more about soon. [Note: the Blue Ox Millworks accepted the care of one clone this last Wednesday.*]

And still another will grow at an undisclosed location in Freshwater. As for the other two trees, I’m still undecided. I’m not sure where they will go.

Think of it. 120 years after being cut down and thought to be gone forever, The Fieldbrook Giant is back by a miracle of modern science. It’s almost like something out of Jurassic Park.

Thanks to

David Heller’s story in the Redheaded Blackbelt, The Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, and simple persistence, the Fieldbrook Giant (or Stump, whichever name you prefer) has returned,…I believe, for the first time to Humboldt County. Coming full circle, this wouldn’t have happened if not for this.

I thought the readers of Redheaded Blackbelt should be among the first to hear about this.

If you have any helpful suggestions or comments, please leave a reply. I would like hearing it.

Thank you,

Steve D’Agati