Eastern White Pine- the Tree Rooted in American History

Documents the eastern white pine tree's central role in the founding and building of America, its logging history, and its current importance to wildlife and humans.
Why was the eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) at one time the most valuable tree in the world?
Why did the king of England establish the American colonies?
What led up to the American Revolution?
What is the tallest living thing in the northeastern U.S.?
What did primeval white pines look like when the Pilgrims landed?
What is the value of the eastern white pine to wildlife and humans?
Why is walking in a pine forest good for your health?
These questions and more are answered in this documentary film by New England Forests (www.neforests.com).
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Correction: the film states (at 13:42) that in 1691, King George reinstated the Bay Colony charter; it was King William III who reinstated it in 1691.
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A note to users of closed-captions: the captions (subtitles) can be moved to different locations on the screen if they are blocking your view. To move a closed caption, place your cursor on it and drag it. Also, when captions are turned on, there are a number of caption features you can change by clicking on the settings "gear wheel" and selecting "Subtitles/CC", and then "Options".

[@jeffd3844]

I was COMPLETELY floored by this video. I had no idea how important this tree was to American history. Next chance I get, I'm gonna hug one!

[@prayfornathannatureshow]

This is by far one of the best and most important videos on the internet today. What an incredible job New England Forests did in putting this together.

[@NewEnglandForests]

Nathan, how could I possibly disagree?? 🙂 Thanks for those very kind words! -Ray

[@marcuscicero9587]

not a whisper of this information in any American history course in my grammar or high school. glad I dropped by, thanks for the vid and the history lesson

[@rjcoady21]

In Michigan it's beat into our head, with a stick

[@philmahaffy9327]

I'm Canadian and proud, but I learned more American history in school. Why?

[@pedalingthru2719]

Sounds like you went to a crappy school then. Every other school taught this.

[@Donnoha]

@marcus cicero maybe you were asleep

[@skipperwarp9]

No offense but why would a high school teach a class solely on a tree, in the grand scale of things there are so many more things to cover

[@soopittedbra]

Couldn’t be more at peace soakin all this up on a rainy Sunday morning. Thank you for posting.

[@crowvii]

Wow, I consider myself a history buff but I learned a LOT about so many subjects. Absolutely a gem of information. Thank you so much for sharing, I enjoyed this immensely and have such a new appreciation for our eastern white pines !

[@judyboyle9232]

Wow, my daughter, The Professional Forester in Canada, sent me this. I am proud she has chosen a path in Forestry. 🌲I'm only halfway through and am amazed at all the history you cover. I only pray there is not a test at the end.📚✏

[@benniebarrow348]

So true.......once I enter the woods and come in contact with the big trees I can feel a calming effect. My stress and anxiety drop . Natures nerve medicine .....it's a wonderful feeling. Great presentation. Thanks!

[@kikupub71]

I learned about the Eastern White Pine or Pinus Strobus in AGR 143 in college. Incredible history.

[@michaelbeelby1995]

I got chills towards the end of this video. I grew up in coastal Rhode Island....the abandoned rail spurs and forested areas had that magical 'Tolkienesque' allure to them. The Freetown State Forest was my first introduction to 'old growth forests'......and I can honestly say that you can feel the ancient 'vibe' of places like this just by standing still for a moment. My camping adventures usually had me end up in run of the mill, 'normal' state and federal parks.....but the few times I have been graced to spend in actual, old growth forests, I wouldn't trade for all the money on Earth. Those times are gone....It is left to those that come after to decide whether those places and the wonders that they hold are , not just to survive, but to inform those that come after us.

[@johnshields6852]

I've been watching this for a year or so, he does great commentary about the land around us, I stop to look at trees more now, probably because I'm old an can relate,lol, but these trees have been silent witnesses to our civilization. Thank you.

[@wolfgangweber2516]

what an interesting video. I , born in westphalia, deeply rooted in our saxon history, always felt the lack of big trees, old forests. everything is used, is cut down, is commercialized. I am dreaming of our lost germanic forests. the holy tree was the oak. many legends about it. may be one day we will have them again.........................

[@mikek5322]

Damn it! I've got a whole grove of these! I'm going to keep them!

[@r.i.p.hayman5854]

Thank you all for the grand ode to this grand tree species. I planted a few many years ago and now admire their towering vigor as our local forest ashes all die off. Such is the sequence and consequences of life…

[@Peachy08]

I am 62 and was only taught about parts of this. Thanks for filling in the blanks! Thankful for the people that have stood up and set aside our national forested areas to preserve our forest.

[@lindakautzman7388]

I AGREE

[@Jerseyhighlander]

Fantastic way to spend an hour! Certainly better than corporate television. Just, now I need to get out in the forest. Thank you for your time and energy on this.

[@lkbovey52]

2

[@lindakautzman7388]

I AGREE

[@frickcirclesaw]

You have a nice channel. Great history lesson. Glad I stumbled onto your channel.

[@vladbuldyrev8241]

The segment with Bob Leverett at 47:30 perfectly captures everything I love about old growth pine forests. I had the good fortune and pleasure of meeting the man himself at Mohawk Trail State Forest 2 years ago. Happy trails, Bob!

[@VarmintHunters]

Such a great clip! Super jealous by the way, I'd love to meet him. By the way, if you'd like to see some footage of the 'big leagues' lol, I just filmed a video in an old growth pine stand. Cheers!

[@ancientbear3405]

White Pines lift my spirit

[@VitaKet]

Fascinating look at the history here. As an East Coaster I am somewhat sad there is so little old growth left though.

[@NewEnglandForests]

You’re not alone in that sentiment.

[@gardengirl6799]

Read the book "A Forest Journey." When you get to the part about the virgin forests here you will want to cry.

[@___PK__]

The quality of this documentary is so over the top! What an excellent work, and I had basically no idea.

[@manintheforest_]

Thank you for this fantastic documentary. I had no idea the white pine played this role in America’s history. It has also given me a greater appreciation for the large one that lives in the center of my back yard here in NW CT, as well as that feeling we all get when walking through these peaceful places. Thank you!

[@bumblebill1]

On vacation years ago we went to Maine to camp and see the magnificent forests. When we arrived all we could see was a disgusting garbage dump for miles. The major part of the forest had been totally destroyed by paper corporations to make toilet paper. sometimes we could not find even one tree. All the majestic trees that were world famous. This is what happen with greedy corrupt politicians and soulless corporations. The same has happened in Michigan and other areas that once had monumental forests. West Virginia is being turned into a vast wasteland . The great hardwood forests have been wiped out by the coal corporations and corrupt politicians. The magical mountain streams have been polluted with tailings from the mines. One of our most beautiful and richest states now has the most poor people and the Appalachian mountains are being dynamited and bulldozed just so a very few can become even richer. Its true, no other place in the world can match the variety and beauty of the Appalachian hardwood forests. It is all being destroyed fast just so a group of soulless politicians can say how great they are. Now the once abundant variety of wildlife is dwindling and turning quieter each hour. How great is capitalism?

[@retired0307]

Not sure how I stumbled across this but it was very enjoyable and educational. Thank you very much.

[@NewEnglandForests]

Well, do stumble in again soon, there’s more coming! 😁

[@DeborahRosen99]

I took my daughters to Baxter State Park in Maine last summer: it was their first time camping, and they were enchanted by the forests now permanently preserved against rapacious commercial logging. I told them that "the air is different in the old forests, the land is alive and that it's so clean you can see more stars than you ever dreamed of." They didn't believe me, until we turned out the lights and it was pitch-black and I guided them out of the tent to see the black silhouettes of the giant pines leading up to a sky that was filled with stars. They've never experienced anything like that trip to the forest before, and I hope to make it a regular experience for our family. Your video reminded my girls of that trip, and tied the older one's experience of the forest in with the history she's been learning in school and made that history real for her. Trained as a historian myself, I can only say thank you!

[@thestones8022]

most beautiful tree, year round..

[@cherylcarlson3315]

Thank you for explaining why I have always loved white pines, insisted on them as christmas trees, wanted to plant them in town but learned enough to know they would be limited. Loved walking along black Moshanon on the thick carpet of needles, those vivid orange mushrooms just away from shafts of light where little ferns, thick branchy moss. I spent hours in awe, need to go back.

[@BluRibTac]

Such a great video. Tom, ive watched this at least half a dozen times.

[@NewEnglandForests]

Thank you for watching and commenting (one minor correction though- Tom was not involved with this film). -Ray

[@Snaproll47518]

In my youth I spent quite a bit of time in the forests of Upstate New York and would occasionally come across massive specimens of the White Pine. They are beautiful trees.

[@nobleroofinggeneralcontrac7961]

My gf is from the Midwest we stayed in Concord Ma a few years ago on a trip drove through Carlisle MA. She still talks about the trees. She was really in awe looking out the window of the vehicle saying WOW! When she describes it to others she says it was like being in a movie.

[@christopherfitch7705]

Walking among the elders.A magic that's never lost.

[@anthonybarker2087]

I have a whole grove of huge white pine which is why this post caught my eye. I had no idea ship mast were made of pine. I thought they were made of oak. Loved this movie.

[@jamesburnett7085]

Beautifully stated, marvelously illustrated, solidly documented, a story well-deserved by this priceless resource. These programs are mothers milk to tree lovers.

[@cb_tattooing]

I grew up in western Kentucky, and was never taught any of this to a degree that I can remember it. (Edit) I remember discussing the logging industry in general, but nothing to this degree.

[@ppumpkin3282]

During the revolutionary war, colonists transported cannons captured at Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights in Boston to force the British out of Boston. They moved the cannon over the Berkshire mountains and areas that were lightly inhabited. After watching how they moved these tall thick white pines, I can now understand how they must have been experts in moving this sort of thing.

[@julzm7067]

Thank you. Beautiful. A decade ago I hiked through a kauri forest in New Zealand. Old growth kauris were also logged extensively by Europeans, I was fortunate to see some massive specimens of 150 feet in height and 40 feet around. That forest is no longer open to the public.

[@johnbauby6612]

I never knew the early settlers had trail cams! I have watched this short doc a dozen times, better every time

[@robertleverett4444]

I used to visit the Cathedral Pines regularly. They were New England's flagship pines at the time. We measure quite a few. Many were over 150 feet, a few over 160, and one over 170. I really was bummed out to go down there after the blowdown.

[@richtomlinson7090]

From what I was told by an older friend, was that the construction of theTappan Zee required some very tall trees to sink into the muck on one side of the river and cap off with concrete and instead of shipping them from the west coast, they offered the agents of the park a good chunk of money to take some of those pines. Possibly the remaining trees would have stayed upright if they were undisturbed and protecting each other, because many times when the forest is thinned out, it becomes vulnerable to high winds, because they are alone against the wind.

[@acon2834]

Fantastic video! I live near Tamworth. Those pines are breathtaking

[@NathanHarrison7]

Incredible documentary. I had no idea pine trees are so very special. Always thought it was about hardwoods. Wish my history, and biology, classes were half as interesting. Thank you!

[@basil]

Excellent video!! Thank you! It was very sad to see the spectacular old pines damaged by the tornadoes at Sleeping Giant Park in Connecticut. I miss them and the aromatherapy they provided so much since they’ve been gone.

[@Adele411]

My first known ancestor arrived in the New World 400 years ago in 1623. The settlement area they were assigned to had bad water & poor soil. After 2 years all but my ancestor, an Anglican minister, & the blacksmith returned to England. My ancestor looked for a location with good water & soil & built a cabin on what is now Boston Commons. He obtained ownership of 800 acres there. But his act of kindness in inviting Puritans from another failed settlement to winter there as they waited for a ship to come in the spring to return survivors to England was betrayed by them threatening his life & stealing his land because he refused to become a Puritan. He fled to Rhode Island. Descendants of his only son were manufacturers of ships in Maine (because of the availability of wood for the purpose) & many still reside there. I was not aware of this history when my family was transferred at the pleasure of the government to several states where I planted hundreds of the beautiful White Pine seedlings on our acreage for windbreaks & screens. Your video has made me realize that White Pines have been a personal part of my family's history all this time. Thank you!

[@Roylamx]

Yes, I learned a lot! The 1734 Mast Tree & Pine Tree Riots were something I'd never heard of, but important to how we got our country and our Constitution.

[@hikerx9366]

I'm a tree hugger and the TREES are our reason for being able to breathe, I owe my life to the Forest and the Good Lord.🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🙏

[@la7era1u54]

I remember learning about this in my Maine history class when I was in school many years ago

[@lewislinzy3437]

A fantastic history lesson! Thanks.

[@kar702]

After watching this, I feel very lucky my parents bought a cabin in Minnesota back in the 70s and we in turn bought it from them. For some reason those big white pines were never cut down on that point over the lake where our property is. We don’t know if winter set in too fast and they didn’t wanna come back just to get them or if they forgot about them or what happened but we sure happy they missed them.

[@stevesmith9447]

Being able to regularly go out into the woods alone is a wealth. I spent my teenaged years wandering through a virgin wetland forest that just happened to be basically off my back porch. Never knew what I had until I moved away.

[@stevegrooms1142]

This is a highly intelligent discussion. While I knew a lot about the logging traditions, I hadn't seen how critical white pine was for nations depending on masts for sailing ships for commerce and war.

[@donniecarney5143]

Just recently discovered this channel. You guys make the best videos I've watched in the last 10 years. Thank you for hours of enjoyment and knowledge!

[@michaelwoodward5787]

Nothing like a walk in the forest.

[@yanlajeunesse9491]

Thank you so much for this Share ! We just acquired a small plot of old groth forest on the boarder of VT/Qc and we certainly feel the magic of this forest the moment we step in it. THAT is exactly why we acquired this land. We have not yet decided on how we want to manage it ( eco tourism ect.. ) but we do want to have more people experience it and enjoy its presence. Thanks again for putting words, history and perspective on the majestic Eastern white pin!

[@vervi1jw1]

I have 66 acres in NW Michigan. Was timbered sometime in the 1800s. The property now has hundreds of huge white pines. I will never cut them. They are too beautiful.

[@scd603]

I live in Massachusetts in a rural area near Cape Cod. Lots of white and pitch pines. I love the forests, but regret we don't have old growth trees. I've spent time in the Pacific North West, and they do have old growth. I can only imagine seeing 300-400 year old white pines...

[@davidwilson6308]

Brilliant ! Walking through the forests of Nova Scotia i have always been in awe of the great majestic pine. After watching this I feel even more of a reverence for this species. Thankyou.

[@stevenwescott1422]

That rd sign duck pond and mast rd is about 2 miles from my house. Neat too see.

[@MrPhotodoc]

Excellent history of the American lumber industry.

[@johnserrano9689]

Born an raised in Adam's MA with the monster record setting trees , this is the way life wad meant to be. Walking up to monster trees which do a great job of setting you in your place, a subtle reminder to respect mother nature. I don't mean to be a jerk to the old timer at the 50 plus minute mark, but I cannot help but believe he can be found walking these hills completely bare assed talking to him self in deep conversation...one hell of a happy soul who's found his place

[@jaycimbak7781]

Thank you very much for these videos! I have learned so much and I look at trees and the forest landscape in a whole new way!

[@LaurieACouture]

I love this film--It is a compliment to the book, White Pine by Vietze. Great visuals and reenactments! I love that you ended the film with the spiritual, mental health, and aesthetic value of our White Pine forests. So often this is missed in favor of dry concepts such as ecosystem. However, all living things need White Pine forests (and forests in general), including humans. So tragic that our Old Growth forests are gone. Where did you find the White Pine shilling sample, by the way? Fascinating!

[@gardengirl6799]

I really wanted to buy a worn white pine shilling at my coin dealer. Only 4 thousand dollars. They are higher online. I had to pass.

[@NewEnglandForests]

Laurie, I didn’t have a shilling, just obtained a photo of one.

[@mollyrose295]

This was excellent

[@personwhoexists4491]

Favorite video Ive ever watched. I was and am still, to some degree in a quandary of who i am and what I want my legacy to be. This video Really helped me reconcile my career in arborculture with my interest in American history and revolutionary sentiments. In maintaining, climbing and pruning white pines and other trees, I am paying homage to the legacy of the pioneers who risked their repute, and potentially lives, for the right to harvest the product of the land which they sacrificed so much to procure. While the catalyst of America's inevitable next faction will not be dispute of tree ownership, the brash independence with which Ebenezer Mudgett and his henchmen defended their property, livelihood, and more fundamentally, their freedom, offers much for present-day Americans to emulate.

[@thomaswypyszinski3645]

Funny, I'm kind of a history buff. I know more than most people. (That's not saying much.) lol I did NOT know anything about the importance of the White Pine and its history. Amazing! Thank You

[@kdegraa]

There are a lot of parallels between the colonial timber industry in the New England and colonial New South Wales in Australia. Cedar, generic term for a tree, was the high value tree. Timber getters cut trails through bush from rivers to the trees. Cedar was used to make beautiful furniture. The timber is dark red and looks beautiful when polished.

[@spiritfan1969]

I’m halfway through the video and have to comment , this video is SO GOOD !

[@johnclarke6647]

We cut a 43 inch diameter yellow pine on our farm in South Georgia that was only 57 years old, after we counted the rings. You will not get that kind of growth in New England. 52:41

[@guy-tn2ud]

Why didn't I learn about this is SCHOOL?!?!? Nice informative and interesting video. Thank you.

[@pseudopetrus]

I have planted many white pines in my life, many other species as well, oh do I know about mortality, should they grow to 50 feet in my lifetime. Still, though I will not live long enough to appreciate their mature majesty, I will keep going, keep planting as long as God gives me the strength. I visit old growth areas from time to time, to rejuvenate my conviction that I wish the next generation to enjoy the fecundity that old growth forests give to the natural world!

[@catherinemccormack2919]

my favorite video ever, thank you. Indeed, since first watching this a couple months ago I have planted two young Pine trees in my back yard. It is esquisit joy to watch them grow. Thanks again.

[@Rissy617]

Wow!! Love the fact about triangular town "squares". So true about New England!! Edit: it was needed when moving big trees that were chopped down

[@tomschmidt381]

The "oval" in our town Milford NH is really a triangle. Wonder if that is because of the logging trade.

[@mikem3695]

Thank you for rekindling a greater appreciation of the historical significance and natural bounty of the place I have called home for the last half century.

[@theattic2390]

thank you! Excellent film with fascinating history, beautiful photographs and film, and inspiring message.

[@user-qs7gx7rp7m]

Newly moved to a farm first settled in 1900 by an English family in a land of nothing by forests, rivers and lakes. Love history and researching that family story inspired by old relics found burried in a tumbled down log barn I've used great care in This channel is a mercy by wise lessions in how to read the tree language thats shouts out its tale in silence . . .

[@hlloyd-fs4uf]

Wow, best tree history doco on the web! This is the why our history happened the way it did, not just the how, a major piece of the puzzle. So well done, no fluff, BS, poor attempts at humor, or crappy music, or wasted words. Thank you thank you thank you! I learned more from this film than the last forty history films I watched.

[@NewEnglandForests]

Can't ask for a better review than that... thank you!

[@hlloyd-fs4uf]

@@NewEnglandForests You are most welcome. I almost never compliment anyone, so every word is in all sincerity.

[@HarborLockRoad]

This is awesome...best doc ive ever seen...ive lived in western mass all my life but knew little of this info! Thank you with all my heart for giving me insight into my home regions history that i may never have known otherwise! One thing,- " windfall"!!! 😉im very surprised you didnt cover that terms origin! Colonists were only able to cut trees that had naturally fallen, so theyd expose the roots often using water until a windstorm knocked it over! Hence, a " windfall"!

[@NewEnglandForests]

Dave, thank you for the compliment. I wonder where you learned that colonists could not cut down trees... I've never heard that idea before. It would seem to be one heck of a chore to expose enough roots to cause a tree to be windthrown. If they had the tools (which they did) to cut a fallen tree up, then they had the tools to cut a standing tree down.

[@anthonymorales842]

sometimes I get a chance to work on very old homes and find pine boards up to 2 feet wide,

[@ronmack1767]

Enjoyed the video. Thanks for producing it.

[@jbrown2905]

As a lifelong Boston area resident, and a collector of colonial era flags, it was perplexing to most every observer as to why so many of the colonial flags had this weird “ Christmas tree” conspicuously presented. This video has been so informative in filling in this unappreciated ethos of those times. 🙏🙏

[@matthewgauthier7251]

Yes thanks for this. Loved it. And that turpine thing makes sense. Have always seemed to transcend the cares of life when walking in a pine forest. More to it than just being outside it appears.

[@markcummings6856]

Fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

[@robertforrester578]

Just plain old good work Fellas. Thanks from Philadelphia

[@gretchenrobinson825]

I have always loved white pines. For a few years as a child I slept on the side of our house that had large white pines. The wind in the white pines whooshed peacefully.

[@williamkessler8298]

Such an amazing documentary -- the white pine stands that I encounter upstate New York are so enjoyable and this information makes them all the more so.

[@johnmurphy9688]

Awesome videos yous guys do. Thank you for the knowledge. I'll pass it onto whoever I can. Best wishes.

[@grayfiresoul]

Wonderful! Thank you this breadth of knowledge and history.

[@fionavanwyk6441]

Thank you for another beautiful video. What an incredible history of the white pine tree!

[@krttd]

Such a delightful and informative video. You do a great job of projecting love of the forest, thank you for sharing!

[@John-ub9dl]

This is one of the most well put together documentaries I have ever seen!

[@onpurpose2629]

Thank you a very well thought out presentation, much gratitude, Big smile inside. On purpose

[@Lmaxk007]

Will never forget you my friend.

[@dadams9158]

Outstanding video packed with priceless information. The knowledge that makes up a significant part of our true American history.

[@getintothewildwithjeffruma8777]

Great video, I loved learning the history of this beautiful tree and how it shaped the world as a whole.

[@JesseRaylabrancaro]

This is an absolutely marvelous video! Thank you so much!

[@jeanneamato8278]

We live in a white pine forest in Rhode Island that also happens to be a bird sanctuary. 3,000 acres.

[@earllutz2663]

What a wonderful documentary. Thank you so much.

[@rainbowwinds444]

Sending lots of gratitude and love via the wood wide web :)

[@itsshrimpinabag9544]

This is very thorough and poetic! It almost made me cry. I loved the visuals so much. This was just an absolutely awesome video all-around, if a little Green-movement-ish.

[@VarmintHunters]

I was brought to tears the first time I discovered this channel. Didn't think there was a community of friends that were so interested in trees & local history. I thought I was a loner lol. Cheers.

[@NewEnglandForests]

W.O.: If you aren’t already familiar with it, take a peek at the Native Tree Society bulletin board site, ents-bbs.org Join in the discussions there.. it’s all serious tree talk. And if you plan to get down to Massachusetts sometime, contact me (via blog at www.neforests.com) and we’ll arrange a walk with Bob Leverett.

[@VarmintHunters]

@@NewEnglandForests Wow! Thank you so much. I've never heard of that discussion board. Looking forward to introducing myself to the community! That would be a dream come true. Hopefully you'll be hearing from me soon enough. :)

[@itsshrimpinabag9544]

@@NewEnglandForests Thanks!

[@jasnonya3005]

Makes me miss my roots in the PNW, where douglas fir, western red cedar, sitka spruce, western hemlock, all in old growth grow in various locations huge majestic trees used to tower over all the landscape as the white pine in North East did! Even the coastal redwoods of Northern California are so therapeutic. Being a carpenter by trade, the son of a carpenter has given me a love of wood, trees and forests. A hunter, a gatherer, A man of the woods so to speak. I do hope to see the white pines of New England, living in pulp pine Florida there is not much other than pine wood plantations here still the sound of a breeze blowing thru the treetops is cathartic to my soul!

[@facelesssman]

That was the best content I’ve seen in a very long time! Thank you!!!!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 And Merry Christmas here on Christmas Eve 2023. 🌲

[@emmilypalmer9269]

Thank you for educating us🙏

[@thomasmurphy2786]

Brilliant, Thank you so much

[@timgiles9413]

Outstanding video. I wish they would also do a video on the American Chestnut and the Tulip Poplar of Eastern United States. I own 34 acres in the Heart of West Virginia with many different trees and good habitat for lots of animals including Black Bears and plenty of white tail deer and wild turkey. Sometimes the bears come down to the house to visit but they don't stay long. They stay up high and the deer like it down lower near the creek. We love our forest and the plants and animals that God supplied.

[@jesussolis6840]

Awesome, always enjoyed my time living and running in the forest