UMass Amherst Campus Trees: Class Trees

The tradition of planting class trees dates back at least to 1871, when faculty from the then Massachusetts Agricultural College planted significant trees in prominent locations to commemorate graduating classes. Many of these trees can be found today and provide an important link with the past and remind us of the University's history.

In 1938 a hurricane swept through New England and devastated the University of Massachusetts campus and is likely to be responsible for the loss of many of our class tree specimens.

In 1995 the Frank A. Waugh Arboretum was renewed and its director, Professor Jack Ahern, reestablished the class tree tradition, with the support of the Annual Fund that sponsors the annual class tree plantings.

Class Year	Tree Type	Latin Name	Location	Notes	Photo /Map
1871*	American Elm	Ulmus americana	20 street trees planted around the plot in front of South College, planted April 24, 1869	Marker with plaque placed in 1913. These trees no longer exist.
1872*	American Elm	Ulmus americana	These were street trees planted on both side of Olmsted Drive from South College southerly to the bridge at the head of the Pond.	Planted an American Elm for each member graduating. There may be one left of these planting located on the north side of Fine Arts, west side of the Pond. There is no marker.
1873*	Sugar Maples	Acer saccharum	West side of the road running past the "Botanic Museum", from near Waugh's house to Stockbridge Homestead.	Planted a sugar maple for each member of the class. Trees no longer exist.
1873*	American Elm	Ulmus americana	A splendid tree in a small triangle of lawn between Wilder Hall and the Physics building.	This tree no longer exists.
1874*	White Oak	Quercus alba	Large tree seventy-five feet north of the northeast corner of North College.	This tree no longer exists.
1875*	American Elm	Ulmus americana	Rows of street trees on both sides of Olmsted Drive from the south entrance to the campus to the bridge over the brook.	Dug from the Plumtree swamp and planted in the spring of 1873 by the class of 1875. These trees no longer exist. The stone plaque is located on the south side of Fine Arts in a memorial.
1876*	Blue Colorado Spruce	Picea pungens 'glauca'	East and a little north of the old Chemical Laboratory. Died and now removed.	This tree no longer exists. The stone is now located on the southwest side of Memorial Hall.
1877*	Unknown	----	Planted near the spot where Memorial Hall now stands. Tree not located.	This tree no longer exists.
1878*	White Pine	Pinus strobus	Located about 30' southeast of the Chapel/Library. Planted June 19, 1877.	This tree no longer exists.
1878*	American Elms	Ulmus americana	Rows of American elms on each side of the north end of Olmsted Drive, from the Experiment Station to the Ravine.	Set in the spring of 1875 by class of '78. The stone is located under a very old Red Maple tree located on the east side of West Experiment Station.
1879*	Ivy	----	North College.	The class planted Ivy on the south side of North College but did not plant a tree. The building no longer exists.
1881*	Sugar Maples	Acer saccharum	Row located on the south side of the crosswalk between the Pond and North Pleasant Street. Supplemented later with Green Ash. A row of Carolina Poplars planted on the north side of the crosswalk, opposite the maples, by members of the class who came up from 1882.	Planted in the spring of 1879. These trees no longer exit. The last one of these Poplars was removed in the spring of 1922, 36 inches in diameter.
1882*	American Elms	Ulmus americana	Elms on the west side of North Pleasant Street, north from the entrance to the campus from the Experiment Station.	Trees no longer exist.
1882*	Swamp White Oak	Quercus bicolor	In a small triangle of lawn east of North College, at the west end of the crosswalk.	This tree no longer exists. However, the 1882 marker is now located on the northwest corner of Munson Hall under a Pin Oak that was a replacement tree set in June 1912.
1882*	Pin Oak	Quercus palustris	Northwest corner of Munson Hall.	This tree was planted in June 1912 as a replacement for the Swamp White Oak.
1883*	Sugar Maples	Acer saccharum	Row of Sugar Maples on the west side of Stockbridge Road, south from Clark Hall to Mr. Broadfoot's house.	Set in 1882. North of University Apartments there seems to be four Sugar Maples left and two of the Black Walnuts left. There are no markers in this location.
1883*	Black Walnut	Juglans nigra	Four trees of Black Walnut on the north side of the short crosswalk north of Mr. Broadfoot's house.	Set in 1882. North of University Apartments there seems to be four Sugar Maples left and two of the Black Walnuts left. There are no markers in this location.
1883*	Green Ash	Fraxinus pennsylvanicum	Row located on the east side of North Pleasant Street, from the crosswalk south to the campus entrance.	There are no longer any Green Ash Trees in this location. However, 1 was found south of Fernald Hall.
1884*	Unknown	----	"We planted a tree to the north east of the Drill Hall as I remember, but when it was looked for several years ago, at the time when a number of us were back, it had disappeared and we could find no explanation of it."	This tree no longer exists.
1886*	Scotch Elm	Ulmus glabra	A tree located near the rim to the south bank of the Ravine, about 85ft. from Olmsted Drive, a marker was placed by the tree in 1924.	This tree no longer exists, we believe the Parking Garage no stands in this location.
1887*	Miscellaneous Collection	----	A dozen or more trees planted, under the direction of Prof. Maynard, as a part of his arboretum, in the Dingle. (Trees in the Dingle generally wind swept and leaning)	These trees no longer exists. Checking the location of the Dingle. We think it may have been in the area of where the Campus Pond now stands.
1888*	Swiss Stone Pine	Pinus cembra	Planted southeast of the Chapel-Library near the forks of the road, but has been removed and now stands about forty-feet south of the south entrance of Memorial Hall.	This tree no longer exists.
1889*	Elm	Ulmus spp.	"Planted between North College and the Old Chemical Laboratory, a little southwest of the latter."	This tree no longer exists.
1890*	Norway Spruce	Picea abies	Between North and South Colleges on either side of the road.	Norway Spruce was cut-down/uprooted in 1991 and a Time capsule from 1878 was discovered underneath, and is in Archives.
1890*	Katsura	Cercidiphyllum japonicum	Two Katsura trees between North and South Colleges on either side of the road.	These trees no longer exist.
1892*	Sugar Maple	Acer saccharum	Marker at the first tree located south of the diagonal walk leading up to the southeast corner of South College.	This tree no longer exists.
1893*	Black Walnut	Juglans nigra	Tree about sixty feet northwest of the northwest corner of North College. Marker placed in 1924. In a triangular plot of land northwest of North College is a miscellaneous collection of trees. At the southeast corner of this planting is a stone marker.	This tree no longer exists.
1894*	Black Walnut	Juglans nigra	Located about twenty-five feet south of the southwest corner of South College.	Located. This tree is also a Heritage Tree.
1895*	Silver Maple	Acer saccharinium	Located about fifty-feet north of North College (Tree was badly damaged but will be pruned and saved).	This tree no longer exists.
1896*	Elm	Ulmus spp.	Located about sixty-feet north of the northwest corner of the Chapel-Library. It is not a vigorous tree and its trunk is only six inches in diameter at shoulder height. Possibly a later planting. (Removed in 1935 almost dead).	This tree no longer exists.
1897*	Camperdown Elm	Ulmus glabra 'Camperdown'	Located thirty feet north of the northeast corner of the Chapel-Library.	This tree no longer exists.
1898*	Black Oak	Quercus velutina	Located fifty feet south of North College.	We believe this tree is located on the north side of the Library and South College where the sidewalk makes a v. However, there is no marker, this tree is in very poor shape and is slated to be taken down.
1899*	Japanese Elm	Ulmus japonica	This tree is located thirty feet southeast of the southeast corner of South College.	This tree was brought from Sapporo Agricultural College in Japan in 1890 by Professor William Penn Brooks. It is the first of its species in America. Located.
1900*	Red Oak	Quercus rubra	Located 35 ft. north of the northwest corner of the Drill Hall (Which is now the east side of Bartlett Hall).	Located.
1901*	Sakhalin Corktree	Phellodendron sachalinense	Located 60-ft. northeast of the Veterinary Laboratory (Which is now Munson Hall).	Located.
1902*	Mossycup Oak	Quercus macrocarpa	Located 50-ft. northeast of Memorial Hall (uprooted and removed).	This tree no longer exists.
1903*	Pin Oak	Quercus palustris	Located on the east side of Draper Hall.	Located. However, the sign on the tree is incorrectly labeled Red Oak
1904*	White Oak	Quercus alba	Located southeast of the Chapel-Library.	We think we may have located it on the southeast corner of the Chapel in the little grass island. However there is no marker.
1905*	Black Tupelo Tree	Nyssa sylvatica	Located between the Chapel-Library and Memorial Hall.	Located.
1906*	Umbrella Magnolia	Magnolia tripetala	Located in a small triangular plot of the lawn northeast of South College.	This tree no longer exists.
1907*	White Fir	Abies concolor	Located east of Draper Hall. (Uprooted and removed).	This tree no longer exists. There is an Umbrella Pine in this location as a replacement.
1908*	Pin Oak	Quercus palustris	Located 25 ft. south of the Veterinary Lab (Which is now Munson Hall).	Located. This tree is also a Champion and Heritage Tree.
1909*	Pin Oak	Quercus palustris	Located northwest of the Stockbridge House and southeast of Wilder Hall.	Located tree is marked with a stone at the base.
1910*	Purple European Beech	Fagus sylvatica 'atropurpurea'	Located south of French Hall.	Located.
1911*	Pin Oak	Quercus palustris	Planted northwest of French Hall. (Died and was removed).	This tree no longer exists.
1912*	Red Oak	Quercus rubra	Located about 30 ft. north of Memorial Hall.	Located.
1913*	Norway Spruce	Picea abies	Located north of Fernald Hall	Unable to Locate.
1914*	Larch	Larix spp.	Planted northwest of the Waiting Station (the old trolley waiting station located on North Pleasant Street).	This tree no longer exists.
1915*	Pin Oak	Quercus palustris	20 ft. north of the northeast corner of Memorial Hall. (Tipped to an angle of 45 degrees - uprighted and guyed)	This tree was in very bad shape; it has a cement core and no marker. This tree no longer exists.
1916*	Sugar Maple	Acer saccharum	Two trees located 50 ft. on each side of the street entrance to Alumni Field (Haigis Mall and Whitmore now stand in this location).	These trees no longer exist.
1917*	Sugar Maple	Acer saccharum	Planted to the right of the field entrance to Alumni Field	This tree no longer exists.
1918*	Elm	Ulmus spp.	Tree planted in a Crabapple group located between Stockbridge and Draper halls.	These trees no longer exist.
1919*	Norway Maple	Acer platanoides	Located north of Fernald Hall. (Badly broken at the top but will be pruned and left).	There are two Norway Maples in this location one of them could be the tree, there is no marker.
1920*	Elm	Ulmus spp.	Located on the West side of Thatcher Dorm.	Originally planted NE of Chemistry Lab that burned to the ground (not far from where Stockbridge is located), moved to present location in 1935.
1921*	European Plane Tree	Platanus spp.	Planted north of the Waiting Station.	This tree no longer exists. However this class also gave a number of benches. 2 on the west side of Memorial Hall, 2 on the Wilder Patio, 5 on the east side of Thompson low rise, 2 on the south east corner of Herter Hall and 2 on the west side of the Campus Pond.
1922*	Sugar Maple	Acer saccharum	Planted north of the Microbiology Building. (Not sure of original location; it seems there were two different locations for the Microbiology Building over time).	This tree no longer exists. This tree was clandestinely removed the night following planting and never replaced.
1923*	European Ash	Fraxinus excelsior	Located on the south side of the crosswalk at the north end of the pond.	May have located on the northeast side of the Campus Pond in grass area. There is an Ash tree we are unsure of what kind, there is no marker.
1924*	Norway Maple	Acer platanoides	Tree planted, but removed the following night. Another planted but met with similar fate. Located north of the main gate to Alumni Field.	This tree no longer exists.
1925*	Mixed Coniferous Evergreens	----	Group of mixed Coniferous Evergreens planted in back of the New Goessmann Laboratory	These trees no longer exist.
1932	Red Oak	Quercus rubra	Located west of Hills North.	There was a tree planted in June of 1932 to replace the original 1882 Class Tree. We were unable to find this tree. However, we located the stone under the Pin Oak at the Northwest corner of Munson.
1933	Sugar Maple	Acer saccharum	Located east of Goessman Laboratory	This tree no longer exists.
1937	Elm	Ulmus spp.	Gift trees in front of Goodell. (Goodell was a library at this time.) One tree damaged badly in hurricane.	There are some older trees in this location but, are unsure if any of these are from the 1937 class; there is no marker. This class also gave to the William Smith Clark Memorial.
1938	Sawtooth Oak	Quercus acutissima	Stockbridge School of Agriculture Class Tree. Located on the east side of Bartlett.	Located.
1940	Unknown	----	The 1940 stone marker has been moved under the 1941 class tree.	Stone marker still exists, however, the tree no longer exists.
1941	White Oak	Quercus albra	Located on the east side of Bartlett Hall.	Stockbridge School of Agriculture Class Tree. Located.
1960	Flowering Dogwood	Cornus florida	Trees planted south of the Student Union in open grass.	Stockbridge School of Agriculture Class Tree. There were five trees at one time, only two remain.
1985	Trident Maple	Acer buergerianum	Located on the west side of Fernald Hall.	Stockbridge School of Agriculture Class Tree. Located.
1995	Lacebark Pine	Pinus bungeana	Located south east of the Chapel.	Located. Has marker at base.
1996	Carolina Silverbell	Halesia tetraptera	Located west of the Chapel near the Helen Cole Garden.	Located.
1998	Paperbark Maple	Acer griseum	Located at the Fine Arts Center (west near the Rand Theatre Entrance).	Located.
1999	Umbrella Magnolia	Magnolia tripetala	Located south of Machmer.	Located.
2000	Three Flower Maple	Acer triflorum	Located on the southwest side of the Student Union.	Located.
2001	Japanese Snowbell	Styrax japonicus	Located on the northwest side of Memorial hall (near the Helen Cole Garden).	Located.
2002	Tupelo Tree	Nyssa sylvatica	Located on the east side of Holdsworth Hall.	Located.
2002	Japanese Red Pine	Pinus densiflora	Located in the grassy area on the north side of South College.	Stockbridge School of Agriculture class tree. Located.
2003	American Beech	Fagus grandifolia	Located on the northeast side of Isenberg School of Management.	Located.
2003	Fringe Tree	Chionanthus virginucus	Located on the south side of the School of Management.	Stockbridge School of Agriculture class tree. Located.
2004	Amur Cherry Tree	Prunus maacki	Southwest Totman Gym.	Located.
2005	Laurel Oak	Quercus hemisphaerica	West of Goessmann against the side of the building.	Located.
2006	Korean Fir	Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke'	Northwest of Library about fifty feet.	Located. Stone marker at base.
2007	Sweetgum Tree	Liquidambar styraciflua	Southwest of Goessmann.	Located. No Marker.
2008	Persian Parrotoa	Parrotia persica	East side of Curry Hicks. Left side of the front enterance.	Located. Stone marker at base.
2009	Sawara False Cypress	Chamaecyparis pisifera	5 planted in Durfee Conservatory, behind the screen, French Hall side.	Tree species and location chosen by Professor Jack Ahern of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning.