Towering nearly 60 feet tall at the busy intersection of Wheelock and Main streets stands the stately DeWitt Elm. 

Named for Gordon DeWitt ’60, who was Dartmouth’s first director of facilities planning, the stalwart American elm shade tree, which belongs to the town of Hanover, is estimated to be between 120 and 130 years old.

For many members of the Dartmouth community, it’s a symbol of tenacity and steadfastness. But despite years of careful, costly maintenance and state-of-the art treatment for Dutch elm disease, experts have concluded the tree is decaying and no longer salvageable.

Proof of its instability came on June 4, when an enormous limb that had been cabled to the trunk broke away, and, were it not for the cable, would have crashed to the ground, says Asa Metcalf, town arborist for Hanover’s Department of Parks and Recreation. He says he was somewhat surprised the limb failed, since there were no outward signs of deterioration. On the other hand, he says, an assessment in May using tomography—sending sound waves through the wood to measure density—did find troubling signs of structural weakness in the tree.

“There is a decay column in the bottom 50 centimeters of the trunk,” says Metcalf. “We’re not concerned about a whole tree failure because the wood around the perimeter is sound. But we are worried about more large limbs falling from the canopy.”

And that, Hanover and Dartmouth officials agree, poses a major risk to pedestrians and motorists. The tree sits just inches from one of Hanover’s busiest intersections at the southwest corner of the Green, across from the Hanover Inn.

Metcalf says he’s impressed that the tree has lasted as long as it has, encased in pavement and battered by snow, wind, road salt, and plow trucks.

“It happens to be located in one of the most difficult situations for a tree to grow in, with its only permeable surfaces right under the tree,” he says. “It’s amazing that it survived the 1938 hurricane and the massive Dutch elm disease outbreaks in the 1940s and 1950s. It’s just a marvel of nature, and it’s sad to see it go.” 

Work to remove the tree is expected at the end of the month or early August; traffic will be re-routed at the time and the southwest corner of the Green will be temporarily closed to accommodate the crane and chipping of branches.

Public notice will be given well in advance by Facilities Operations and Management, says Associate Director Tim McNamara. He says Dartmouth and the town have worked to save elms near the Green. 

“We went to extreme lengths on the north side of Parkhurst to protect the big elm there, which is also very old,” he says. “A couple of years ago, we literally rerouted the sidewalk around it so that plows wouldn’t hit it and it wouldn’t get salt. We’ve really tried to preserve the existing big elms.” 

A town memo indicates Hanover has spent almost $13,000 since 2010 to protect the DeWitt Elm, with such measures as treating it for Dutch elm disease every third year, pruning deadwood, and installing cables to protect and hold limbs that might fail.

Frank Roberts, associate vice president, Facilities Operations and Management, worked with DeWitt nearly 30 years ago and said he believes the tree was named for him because of his extensive work with the town when DeWitt oversaw the Facilities Planning Office.

“The location of the tree on the corner of the Green, where the town of Hanover and the College intersect, was symbolic because of the connection, cooperation, and communication that he fostered between the town and Dartmouth,” Roberts says.

DeWitt, who joined the facilities staff not long after graduating, and, rising to assistant business manager, was involved in much new construction—including the Hopkins Center for the Arts—now lives in a retirement home in Woodstock, Vt.

He says he’s sorry that a beloved tree must come down, but understands why.

“It anchors an important corner, and I’m a little bit sad, but hey, time goes on,” he says. “And here’s a story about someone I knew who lived down the street when the tree was dedicated to me. When she took a walk and read the plaque, she thought I’d died.” 

Far from it. The plaque will be returned to DeWitt, and he says it will make a fine paperweight.