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"Tablet Marks Site of Washington Elm" Boston Globe (1926)

Text of an article in the Boston Globe, August 2, 1926. See image of the article and tablet.

After more than two years, the spot on which once stood the Washington Elm in Cambridge has finally been marked by a small marble tablet at the junction of Garden and Mason sts.The historic Elm was splintered almost to the base during a storm about three years ago. At that time the Park Commission of Cambridge intended immediate action to erect a memorial on the spot. There was considerable difference of opinion as to the type of marker to be chosen, however, and it was not until May 12, this year, that the City Council, at the direction of Mayor Edward W. Quinn, appropriated money for the purchase of a memorial tablet. Two years ago a pavement was laid across the spot where the Elm had stood and this is passed over each day by heavy traffic. Because of this traffic, it was decided to lay a tablet flush with the pavement.

On a small round marble slab are embossed some copper letters stating that on that spot under and elm tree, Gen George Washington took command of the Continental Armies on July 3, 1775.The Washington Elm, as the tree was known for almost a century and a half, had come to be a shrine for tourists visiting the historical sections in and around Greater Boston. Each year thousands made a pilgrimage to the elm.
During the past three years tourists have visited the headquarters of various historical societies in Cambridge, seeking information as to the exact location of the spot where the elm stood.

There is but one memorial of the famous tree. It is a sapling which was once grafted to the Washington Elm and later presented to the City of Boston by the City of Cambridge. The sapling was planted in the Cambridge Common not far from the spot where the original elm grew by Vice President Charles G. Dawes on April 19, 1925.

On July 3 of the same year, President Coolidge delivered a memorial address in the common on a platform erected near the sapling in connection with the 150th anniversary of the event which marked the turning point in the fortunes of the Continental Armies.

 
   

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