{{Infobox tree | name = Bush butternut | image = | alt = | image_caption = | species = Butternut | binomial = ''Juglans cinerea'' | location = Tumwater, Washington, United States | coordinates = {{coord|46|58|05|N|122|52|55|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | seeded = {{start date|1845}} (planted) | felled = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} --> | custodian = Ray Gleason (arborist)<ref name=Mittge/> | website = {{URL|bushprairiefarm.com}} }}
The '''Bush butternut tree''' was a butternut tree in Tumwater, Washington, planted in 1845 by George Bush, an African-American veteran of the War of 1812 who became a pioneer of the Puget Sound region and founder of the city of Tumwater.<ref name=DES/> The tree was thought to be the oldest butternut in the United States and possibly the oldest in the world.<ref>{{citation|newspaper=The Olympian|location=Olympia, Washington|title=Historic Bush butternut tree damaged by weekend windstorm|date=September 1, 2015 |url=http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article33220641.html}}</ref><ref name=CLT>{{citation|title=Bush Prairie Farm – now protected forever|date=August 23, 2017|publisher=Capitol Land Trust|url=https://capitollandtrust.org/bush-prairie-farm-now-protected-forever/}}</ref><ref name=WSU>{{citation|title=Tree planting at WSU will end with a bang|date=April 17, 2014|publisher=Washington State University|work=WSU News|type=blog|location=Pullman, Washington|url=https://news.wsu.edu/2014/04/17/april-22-tree-planting-at-wsu-will-end-with-a-bang/}}</ref> Historians are divided on whether Bush brought a seed or seedling with him from Missouri in the United States to the Puget Sound area, then in Oregon Country.<ref>{{citation|title=Sapling or seed - how did the Butternut tree arrive in Tumwater?|work=George Washington Bush - Washington State Pioneer|type=Online document|publisher=Washington Secretary of State|url=https://www.start-wa.com/sapling_seed.html}}</ref>
The original tree stood on Bush's homestead, now Bush Prairie Farm<ref name=CLT/> and a land trust, near Olympia Airport. It was seriously damaged in a windstorm in 2015, and collapsed on May 1, 2021, at the age of 176 years.<ref name= cm>{{cite web | url = https://www.chronline.com/stories/brian-mittge-commentary-when-a-tree-falls-in-the-forest-of-time,265141 | website = www.chronline.com | title = When a Tree Falls in the Forest of Time | date = 2021-05-07 }}</ref>
In 2009, a tree grown from a seed of the original tree was planted on the Washington State Capitol campus in Olympia, Washington.<ref>{{citation|newspaper=Bend Bulletin|location=Bend, Oregon|title=Sapling of historic tree joins Capitol landscape|author=John Dodge|date=April 2, 2009 |url=https://www.bendbulletin.com/news/1456062-151/sapling-of-historic-tree-joins-capitol-landscape}}</ref><ref name=DES>{{citation|title=Historic campus tree to be treated for pest | date=March 21, 2016|publisher=Washington State Department of Enterprise Services|url=https://des.wa.gov/about/news-media-center/historic-campus-tree-be-treated-pest-march-25}}</ref> Another was planted at Washington State University in Eastern Washington in 2014.<ref name=WSU/> Another was planted in Centralia, Washington, in 2017, commemorating its founder George Washington, another African-American settler, and his namesake President George Washington.<ref name=Mittge>{{citation|title=History Takes Root: Tree Sapling From Pioneer George Bush Planted at Fort Borst Park|author=Brian Mittge |date=November 17, 2017|newspaper=The Chronicle|location=Centralia, Washington|url=https://www.chronline.com/news/history-takes-root-tree-sapling-from-pioneer-george-bush-planted/article_7bd06286-cc1f-11e7-a446-6f1be6c25ca3.html}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[http://www.bushprairiefarm.com/bush-butternut-tree.html Bush butternut tree] at Bush Prairie Farm official website
Category:1845 in Oregon Country Category:Individual trees in Washington (state)