From Virginia to Valley Forge: A piece of George Washington’s beloved tulip poplar tree finds a new home

A piece of George Washington’s beloved Mount Vernon lives now at Valley Forge National Historical Park in the form of a young tulip poplar tree.

On Sunday, the Washington Memorial Chapel welcomed the three-year-old sapling during a ceremony that included its planting at the cemetery’s Defenders’ Gate along Valley Forge Road.

“I can’t think of any better spot to bring one of Washington’s trees,” said Dean Norton, Mount Vernon’s director of horticulture and a member of the White House Preservation Committee.

For Norton, who drove from Virginia to deliver the tree, it felt like bringing a little bit of George Washington back to Valley Forge, where Gen. General Washington endured the brutal winter of 1777-78 along with his Continental Army.

More than a decade later, he became the first U.S. president. He would reside in both Philadelphia and New York, but Mount Vernon remained the home to which he retreated from political life, and where he lived until his death in 1799.

“The original tree [where the sapling is from] was a living witness to George Washington’s life. … Now we are bringing a descendant to that history to Valley Forge,” said Norton.

But why a tulip poplar tree?

According to Norton, it was one of Washington’s favorite trees — so much so that the tulip poplar made several appearances in the Founding Father’s personal diaries.

Washington dug out this type of tree from the nearby forests to plant them around his home. According to Norton, three of them are still alive at Mount Vernon, the oldest from 1766.

The tree that yielded the sapling now planted at Valley Forge is over 200 years old and 135 feet tall, Norton said.

According to the Rev. Tommy Thompson, the Washington Memorial Chapel allocated a 2-foot-by-2-foot hole for the young sapling, with a 30-foot radius of surrounding free space for it to grow.

As the tulip poplar sapling settles into its new home, the plan is to put a park bench by it and an information board for people to know more about the tree’s role in Washington’s life.

“This tree gives [folks] one more connection to American history and one more opportunity for people to come and connect with the past of our beautiful country” said Thompson.

Bobbi Riley of the Valley Forge chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution said Sunday that she asked to “share the moment” and participate in the ceremony by putting down soil to help plant the tree.

“I think this is just an outstanding occasion to have this tie from Mount Vernon here at Washington’s memorial chapel,” she said.

Staff writer Michaelle Bond and staff photographer Tom Gralish contributed to this article.