Hashawha Orchard
Address:
300 John Owings Rd., Westminster, Carroll Co.
(see map below)
Directions:
Starting at Westminster, Md., go north on Rt 97 past the airport on your left. About 1 mile past the airport you will pass a signal light at Rt 496. Continue on Rt 97 for 3/4th mile to a right turn on John Owings Rd. Take John Owings about 1.2 miles to a left turn into the Hashawha Environmental Center at Bear Branch. The orchard is about 100 yards from the entrance on your left.
Contacts: Dawn Harry
Plantings:
Location:
Maryland Chapter Menu
National Facebook
"In September 2026, plans were announced for the development of a 580-acre high-impact data center facility in West Columbia, WV. Potentially affected by this development sits a 200-tree American chestnut orchard with a rich and collaborative past, located at the former Clements State Tree Nursery in West Columbia..."
To read the full statement and learn more about the nursery’s history, visit the following link: tacf.org/american-chestnut-trees-at-clements/
#americanchestnut #westvirgina #forestry
9 CommentsComment on Facebook
Yeah, the rare, pure and original AMERICAN chestnut tree is worth saving. The population has been decimated and I am glad for any efffort made too keep the trees alive at the data center site and elsewhere. The folks who are working to propagate this tree species have my ❤️
Thank you for helping build awareness of what is happening 💗 Please note that bulldozing and clear cutting is slated to start November 1st and they will have it done by the 15th because they are in the winter habitat of 2 endangered bats. No disturbance of trees is supposed to happen from November to April in order to protect them. Also, Alex Cole is correct. The chestnut orchard land will be part of the Monarch data center campus.
Why do you all keep saying the farm is in West Columbia? It is in Lakin. There are two different data centers. Starwood Digital Ventures is proposing Project Tamarack in West Columbia. The second phase of NScales Monarch Cloud Campus is in Lakin on top of the tree farm. Both are unincorporated communities and next to each other so I can understand the mistake but continuing to say the tree farm is in West Columbia has led to a LOT of confusion.
Recently, 45 students in grades 5-8 at Christ the King Church & School in Rutland, Vermont, helped harvest American chestnuts from trees planted by 8th graders back in 2019. Students opened burs, explored fertile and sterile seeds, felt the unique textures of the burs, and learned about the history of the American chestnut and the restoration efforts underway today.
A special thank you to TACF member Thomas Estill for leading this engaging experience and helping connect students with one of America's most iconic native trees. The students can't wait to roast them this week and experience that sweet starchy flavor.
#AmericanChestnut #ChestnutRestoration #EnvironmentalEducation #FutureForesters #STEMeducation
8 CommentsComment on Facebook
Are they blight resistant?
What a wonderful thing! We recently had three biology classes at Robin Hill Nature Preserve. It was a thrill to see the kids asking questions, making sketches and filling their notebooks.
I did the same with a group of middle school students in northern lower Michigan. I was able to show them both young trees I had planted and mature trees more than likely planted by pioneer settlers to the area in the 1850's. The same family still owns the land the mature trees are on. The mature trees look healthy and are all 40+ feet tall-must have been planted beyond the blight line.
"American chestnut trees were wiped out more than a century ago. Now, new trees that are fungus-resistant are being planted at the zoo."
Read this article by the New York Times about a chestnut tree planting today at the Bronx Zoo, where chestnut blight was first discovered.
Click the following link to read the article: www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/nyregion/chestnut-trees-bronx-zoo.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GVE.LAU...
#news #americanchestnut #explore #NY #forestry
50 CommentsComment on Facebook
We had a chestnut tree in the yard of an air bnb in Washington's Crossing, PA.
They are hybrid trees, not full American.
Utter waste of time. They’ll be dead from the blight in 50 years just like all true Anerican chestnut trees. These scientists are creating hybrids because they cannot stop the blight.
We're grateful to see the important work of American chestnut restoration highlighted by Wild Appalachia.
The segment features WV Chapter member Mark Double and TACF partner Dr. Amy Metheny of WVU, who share why restoring this iconic native tree matters and the progress being made in West Virginia and beyond.
Watch the whole video or read the article here: wchstv.com/community/wild-appalachia/wild-appalachia-american-chestnut-restoration
3 CommentsComment on Facebook
my daughter in mt pleasant ny ( catskills) has a huge american chestnut tree in front of her 1904 home. somehow it missed the blight
I just sent this as email to Governor Morrisey in West Virginia. Please do the same and send to everyone and anyone who may be able to help in an effort to save Clements Nursery American Chestnut Grove. "Dear Governor Morrisey. I have learned that a private corporation plans to destroy the grove of American Chestnut trees at Clements Nursery. For the love of god and all that is good in this world please help to preserve these American Chestnut trees. There are not that many genuine American Chestnut trees that are still growing and what you have there in West Virginia is a national treasure that cannot be replaced with any amount of money, gold or riches. I among with many other multi generational Americans believe this grove of trees should be a treasured working national historic landmark producing seeds and seedling for reestablishing genuine pure American Chestnut trees in our Appalachian Mountains and throughout our country."
They are planning to destroy the site on Nov. 1, 2026 for a data center 🙁