18 Jan Grand Trees
Grand Trees of Fearrington
This document provides additional information about the finest trees to be found in the village. Eight special trees have been identified, representing five separate species. Four of them are county champions. The trees were identified with help from Grand Trees of Chatham, an organization that promotes an appreciation of magnificent trees in the county.
Below you can access photographs of each tree, taken both in winter (without leaves on deciduous trees) and in summer. The two photos may offer different perspectives. The person in each summer photo gives a sense of scale – she is roughly 5½ feet tall. A map and further instructions are provided below to help you find the trees. Further details are provided about the statistics defining the size of each tree. The trees are numbered based on their size relative to the North Carolina champions for the appropriate species.
There are other website pages devoted to notable trees in Fearrington, although many of the featured trees are not native species. One page is devoted to trees in the Village Center; a second provides information about trees in Camden Park. These pages were written in 2013 by Guy Baird, a local resident, with photos by Jim Brooking.
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The Eight Grand Trees
There are winter and summer photos for each tree.
Click on a photo for an enlarged view.
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Location of Each Tree
The map shows where you can find each of the trees. Further explanations of how to locate each tree are provided in the table below. For each tree, the position is described relative to some landmark. If you have a smart phone or other device that displays GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude), you can use the device to direct you to the right location.
| 1. Loblolly Pine | N 35.80507 W 79.08815 |
| From the Fitch Bridge trailhead, take the trail 50 yards south. | |
| 2. Loblolly Pine | N 35.80842 W 79.08477 |
| From Fitch Bridge, take the trail 500 yards northeast. The tree is on the north side of creek. | |
| 3. White Oak | N 35.80030 W 79.08607 |
| From Village Way, 140 yards east of Windstone, go south to the entrance to Fitch Creations. | |
| 4. White Oak | N 35.80111 W 79.09247 |
| North side of Fearrington House Restaurant, beside gateway to lawn. | |
| 5. White Oak | N 35.79972 W 79.08815 |
| Northern corner of McDowell Square, at corner of McDowell and E. Madison. | |
| 6. Southern Red Oak | N 35.80377 W 79.09330 |
| Southwest end of Benchmark, between tennis courts and bocce court. | |
| 7. Pecan | N 35.80062 W 79.09268 |
| The northern of two Pecan trees behind Fearrington House. | |
| 8. American Elm | N 35.80478 W 79.08687 |
| Play area west side of Windstone, 40 yards southwest of basketball court. | |
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Measurements and Other Statistics
| Tree | Height | Circum-ference1 | Canopy Spread2 | Points3 | Champion Points | Relative Points4 | |
| 1 | Loblolly Pine | 138 ft | 136 in | 52 ft | 287 | 328 | 88% |
| 2 | Loblolly Pine | 135 ft | 121 in | 67 ft | 273 | 328 | 83% |
| 3 | White Oak | 85 ft | 180 in | 99 ft | 289 | 409 | 71% |
| 4 | White Oak | 70 ft | 154 in | 82 ft | 245 | 409 | 60% |
| 5 | White Oak | 80 ft | 140 in | 85 ft | 241 | 409 | 59% |
| 6 | Southern Red Oak | 70 ft | 180 in | 93 ft | 273 | 467 | 58% |
| 7 | Pecan | 80 ft | 96 in | 99 ft | 198 | 395 | 50% |
| 8 | American Elm | 85 ft | 92 in | 66 ft | 193 | 385 | 50% |
1 Circumference measured 4.5 feet above the tree’s base.
2 Canopy Spread = Average diameter of canopy. This is divided by 4 in calculating points.
3 Points = Height in feet + Circumference in inches + (Canopy Spread in feet / 4).
4 Relative Points = 100 * (Tree Points / Champion Points for this species).
Methods for obtaining the three critical measurements are described in a booklet available through the North Carolina Forest Service.
A group of Fearrington residents, organized by the Green Scene, identified candidate trees in the village. Members of Grand Trees of Chatham County measured the trees, and together they identified the eight Grand Trees.
Written by Gordon Pitz and Tony Daniels, with photos by Gordon Pitz.