TREE TIME: You’ve seen the old photographs: The hills of
Bradford denuded of every tree and yet dotted with oilwells. The
tree that used to be there is the Eastern hemlock, the state tree
of Pennsylvania and designated September’s “tree of the month.”

That’s the word today from the Bureau of Forestry, Elk State
Forest.

The hemlock, of course, fueled much of the early settlement of
this region of Pennsylvania. While it still is abundant, it was
mostly replaced on those barren hillsides by other naturally
reproducing species such as black cherry – much to present-day
timbermen’s delight.

The hemlock remains one of the dominant trees of the
Commonwealth’s forests, and is found in every county but mostly in
the mountainous regions, the bureau says.

This tree thrives in the shade and may take 250 to 300 years to
fully mature and may live for 800 years or more! It can grow to a
height greater than 100 feet.

Hemlocks were used by the state’s first settlers for log homes
and to protect settlers’ families from weather and other
dangers.

Soon, the eastern hemlock was a major contributor to
Pennsylvania industry. By the end of the 19th century, hemlock bark
was the major source of tannin for the leather industry. In 1896 in
the Commonwealth alone, more than 1.3 billion board feet of hemlock
was harvested. The bark was sent to tanneries and the logs to saw
mills.

In 1896 the “Father of Pennsylvania Forestry” Dr. Joseph T.
Rothrock stated, “If Pennsylvania were to select one tree as
characteristic of our State, nothing would be better than the
hemlock.”

A.J. Downing, the father of landscape gardening in America,
called the hemlock the most picturesque and beautiful of the
world’s evergreens.

In 1927, the Pennsylvania legislature debated the merits of
several nominations for the state tree, but no decision was
reached. In 1931 lawmakers were again asked to make a ruling, and
after considerable debate, the eastern hemlock was adopted June 22,
1931.

Meanwhile, if you want to see some gigantic hemlocks, take a
hike to the Marilla Reservoir, part of the city’s watershed. You
can certainly understand why they are held in such high esteem in
Pennsylvania.