American Chestnut Range Map

American Chestnut Native Range

The American chestnut tree reigned over 200 million acres of eastern woodlands from Maine to Mississippi until succumbing to an imported fungus known as the chestnut blight during the first half of the 20th century. An estimated four billion American chestnuts grew within this range.

For more details on the American chestnut tree, please visit the History of the American Chestnut page.

This range map, published by Elbert Luther Little, Jr. in 1977, is commonly used to show the natural range of the American chestnut. This map does not represent all areas where American chestnut trees have been planted or still survive today.

To learn more about the native range of the American chestnut tree, where American chestnuts still persist, and what areas may be suitable for Amerian chestnut restoration going forward, read the article by TACF’s Chief Conservation Officer, Sara Fitzsimmons; Natural Range of the American Chestnut, published in Chestnut magazine.