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The 10th Annual Corvallis Tweed Ride was held on April 28, 2024. It featured scenic tour of the notable trees of Corvallis. About 50 people participated.
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2024 Poster
Below are side 1 (the map) and side 2 (a description of stops on the tree tour). Download a PDF of the printable map with both sides.
Corvallis Tour de Trees
This is a description of stops on the route.
Stop 1: Camperdown Elms at Western Ave & 5th St: This oddly contorted species originated in Scotland.
Stop 2: Jefferson Avenue London Plane Trees (5th to 9th St): Planted by professors, C. I. Lewis (horticulture) and John Bexell (business) around 1910 and by professor Leo Fairbanks (art) in 1923. Their houses were side-by-side on the south side of Jefferson Ave between 7th and 8th streets.
Stop 3: Camperdown Elm (1920s) at the Buxton Corrie House (1904) (at Jefferson & 8th St).
Stop 4: The Dutch Elm Walk at McNary Field at Oregon State University: Planted in 1905 by Professor George Coote, who was from England where he assisted Charles Darwin in his greenhouses. Professor Coote was responsible for the college's grounds and greenhouses.
Here are maps of trees on the OSU campus: Oregon State University Arboretum Map; OSU Campus Arboretum Tour [PDF], OSU Campus Trees [PDF], Know Your Trees [PDF], and OSU Historic Tree Map.
Stop 5: Community Hall:
(A) The Trysting Tree: This Gray Poplar is a clone of the original tree which was named for its popularity as a romantic meeting spot.
(B) Dawn Redwood (metasequoia): This species was thought to be extinct until it was found in China in the 1940s and fossils of it have been found in eastern Oregon. It is now the state fossil of Oregon.
(C) Other trees: Sitka Spruce; Western Red Cedar; Atlas Cedars (planted in 1892 by George Coote); Coast Redwood.
Stop 6: Library Quad: The quad features a Big Leaf Maple, several large American Elms, and several Giant Sequoias (this species produces the most massive trees on Earth).
Stop 7: Memorial Union Quad: A spectacular group of three very large sequoias, several large American Elms, and an interesting Weeping European White Birch (at the northwest corner of the quad).
Stop 8: Starker & Peavy Tree Nursery (behind Moreland Hall): Remnants of the tree nursery that was planted in the late 1910s-mid 1920s by professors T. J. Starker and George Peavy. Starker later established Starker Forests, which remains a family-owned business that holds nearly 100K acres. Peavy was a leader at what became OSU for many years and served as mayor of Corvallis. This grove includes Norway Spruce, Ponderosa Pine, and Big Cone Douglas Fir.
Stop 9: Fairbanks Hall: The grounds of this hall feature a large Douglas Fir, a Western Red Cedar, and an Incense Cedar.
Stop 10: Hiroshima Peace Tree at the Asian Pacific Cultural Center: This tree was grown from the seed of a tree that survived the atom bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. It is one of 45 such trees planted in Oregon to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII.
Stop 11: The Moon Tree at Peavy Hall: This Douglas Fir was grown from seed that was taken to the Moon on Apollo 14 in 1971 as an experiment to analyze the effects of space travel on seed germination. More info.
Stop 12: 1673 Oregon White Oak at Magruder Hall: This large oak is estimated to be over 350 years old.
Stop 13: Japanese Zelkova at West Hall: This tree is closely related to the elm and is one of the largest in the state.
Stop 14: Oak lined street at 35th & Tyler Ave: Two blocks of 35th Street are lined with large Red Oaks.
Stop 15: Yang Madrone at 30th & Lincoln Ave: The largest madrone in Corvallis was planted in 1950 by professor Hoya Yang (food science) on the grounds of the mid-century modern home designed by his wife, architect Edith Yang, where they lived for many years. Professor Yang played a significant role in the development of the wine industry in Oregon and helped to perfect the Maraschino cherry.
Stop 16: Franklin Park: The oldest park in Corvallis features Giant Sequoias and Port Orford Cedars. The City has published a Franklin Park Neighborhood and Tree Tour [PDF].
Stop 17: Washington Park: This park features three European Purple Beech trees.
Stop 18: Central Park: This park features dozens of species, including different types of alder, ash, beech, birch, cedars, flowering cherries, crabapples, and dogwoods, elms, ginko, maples, magnolias, plane trees, spruce, and walnuts. Here is a map of trees in the park.
Stop 19: Avery Park: This park features many large trees, including Sequoias, Incense Cedars, and the “Avery Walnut” planted by Joseph Avery, one of the founders of Corvallis.
Stop 20: The Witness Tree in Willamette Park: This Black Cottonwood served as the “witness tree” for Joseph Avery’s land claim in 1953 that would later become Corvallis. How he got the tree to sign the paperwork we may never know.
More information about trees in Corvallis
A Tour of Trees in Corvallis (OSU campus and Central Park) [PDF]
Oregon State University Arboretum
OSU Campus Trees [PDF]
Hiroshima Peace Trees - There are 3 in Corvallis: Adams Elementary at Western View Center; Asian & Pacific Cultural Center, Oregon State University; Martin Luther King, Jr. Park
History and media coverage
Learn more about the history of tweed rides and media coverage of our past events.
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