Faith Taylor has lived in Westport for 33 years. She has been a fundraising professional for local non-profits including Planned Parenthood, Norwalk Hospital and Earthplace, a trustee of the Westport Library, and a member of the Board of Education.
Faith writes:
A 2022 real estate listing called it “Connecticut’s Largest Sugar Maple Tree.”
The State of Connecticut registry of notable trees highlighted it as a “champion.” With a height of 90 feet, a circumference of 246 inches and an average spread of 79 feet, it was the largest specimen in its species.
The sugar maple provided shade, habitat and elegance to the charming, historic Wright Street neighborhood.
Wright Street sugar maple. (Photo/Rowene Weems)
After more than 100 years in the same family, the house at #41 was sold last year, in a bidding war. Listed at $850,000, it sold for over $1.4 million.
Last week, this champion tree was taken down.
Was it dying? Not apparently. In danger of falling? Check out the trunk.
But it must have been in the way of a soon-to-be porch, swimming pool or 2-story addition.
Private property owners have the right to manage their own landscaping.
But this was not just any tree. This maple had history. This tree had significance.
It was more than 200 years old. It’s a devastating loss to the neighborhood and our community — never mind the birds that nested there, the bees that found pollen, and all the microorganisms that sustain the life cycle of our fauna.
Grief may be too strong a word.
But it certainly is sad to lose the very elements of our town that contribute to its soul.
(“06880” covers Westport — from its people and events to its history and trees. Please consider a contribution to support our work. Just click here — and thank you!)
Too bad Wright Street is not an Amish community…surely the self centered, thoughtless pricks who took down that tree should be shunned.
Being kind of judgmental on the Amish folks aren’t ye Danny Boy!!?? Do you have abuse at the hands of the Amish to report?
Dear Faith,
I commiserate. I understand. I have a gorgeous large maple tree on my front lawn, which fills my life with endless joy. As the seasons change, my tree does, too. Its autumn attire is so spectacular that people stop to admire it and take pictures. Thanks for your heartfelt words. Such a loss. I share your feelings with you.
I take care of multiple properties on Wright St. Great road, old historic houses.
As many of us age, our powers of observation and advocacy diminish. Fortunately in this photo and caption, Faith Taylor continues to ably articulate many of the benefits of our lives, as well as the short-sightedness of some of our economic choices.
Appalling.
Very sad to lose this tree and so many others in Town.
Thanks Faith. There’s a lot of us who feel the same way. Keep the faith. Plant more trees so that, 80 years from now, others can benefit from the beauty and wonder that big, mature trees create.
It’s not only a shame, it’s devastating to our town and wrong in so many ways. Shade for cooling, roots for soaking up heavy waterfall and, of course most importantly, cleaning and providing the very air we breathe.
For every large tree we lose, the underground water table rises a little more. And it impacts the softer trees like the white pines that do have more shallow and less stable roots to hold in big winds.
Our hardwood trees are one of our most important assets that we have. And until our Town stands up to the developers then we will all just sit back and continue to witness our very own deforestation.
Will the Town stand up? Of course not. The citizens of Westport care about 2 things. Taxes and education. The mass development feeds the tax rolls so no first select person has to be in the unenviable position of raising taxes to pay for the ever-rising cost of education. That’s all that matters to this community from a governing perspective.
Grief is not a strong enough word! This was a piece of Westport History. The city council needs to pass an ordinance against taking down trees like this proclaiming them as Westport Property in perpetuity!!!!!!!!!
Someone should print Dan’s article and everyone’s comments, and drop in their mailbox. This way they can know our outrage about what they’ve done and how it impacts us all including insects abd birds. What a bad decision!! Shameful!! On another note, I know many tree experts who would have refused to cut this maple down.
The senseless destruction of the Wright Street maple tree is the latest example of why we are seeking some kind of designation for the famous Tar Rock on Tar Rock Road. Nothing currently protects it from a future developer’s jackhammer.
Based on the comments our town tree warden has nothing to say about this thoughtless act. What does he do then except collect a salary? While on the subject of the town payroll.. why do we pay summer hires to just joyride around in gad driven golf carts?? MJ is the only one I ever see working emptying trash containers. 5 or more needed at the Beach entrance booth? Maybe Ms Fava needs to come out if her office and evaluate the needs and just not use every penny of her budget so next year she gets more!
I also noticed how many people are at the entrances of Compo Beach. Yesterday rainy morning I took a ride down to Compo and at the main entrance there were three people at the first booth and four at the second booth and across the street at the third booth there was one poor lonely older lady. In total eight persons at the three entrances. REALLY, isn’t that a bit over staffed? This is not the first time I have noticed more than enough staff at these positions, so it wasn’t because it was a holiday.
This is the reason we have a tree warden! WTF!
WHOSE REALLY RUNNING THIS TOWN?
WE THE RESIDENTS! HA! This is unacceptable!
Thank you Faith for writing this obituary of the neighborhood icon.
I am sick over this.
This tree wasn’t just any old tree, it was the largest sugar maple in the state of CT and in the directory of most notable trees. We always checked on “our” tree on our walks. Now there is a big hole in the canopy.
So much for Historical, Preservation, Sustainable, Stewardship, Notable. They are just words and talk is cheap.
We have a Tree Warden and a Historic District Commission – where were they when approvals for remodeling at 41 Wright Street were heard? I get it – it is private property.
These tree companies only care about cutting down trees. I will never use K&J Tree Service.
Ultimately, it is the new owners who knew when they bought the house that this tree was special. Now it is just a stump.
I was under the impression that the tree warden would have been contacted about removing a tree of this size.
Maybe a check of the town records to determine the owner- nah never mind, this smacks of a developer “clear cutting “ the property to facilitate the construction process. If it’s a developer the owner will be listed as an LLC., so what’s the use, they and their greed and avarice rule this town.
My heart breaks for the tree and my town.
The town tree warden is only responsible for trees on town road and town properties.
An anonymous commenter with a fake email address just sent this:
“Hi Dan, the old maple was in fact dying and 3 arborists concluded it was on its way to fall on the 2 houses it grew between. The neighbors at 35 Wright requested for it to be taken down and the town tree warden also agreed that it was dying. It was putting 2 families lives in danger. It was hard to have to decide to have it taken down and it was attempted to be saved but when lives are at stake it becomes more that a choice… it becomes responsibility. I hope you make the responsible choice to reword your article. It is a shame to send out false information and also include pictures of a tree that is rotten down the middle. It was sad but it would’ve been sadder to lose local children.”
My guess is that this is, in fact, the actual story. I’m not an arborist, but that dark ring on that tree stump doesn’t look familiar. And trees, even magnificent ones, do have a limited lifetime and are subject to disease and lightning strikes and may have to be removed for safety. I’ve had to do it myself to several beautiful trees and it is sad but it is often necessary.
Assuming the anonymous email Dan received is correct, why is it that 06880 continues to receive comments ragging on the homeowners, as if these commenters actually know what happened and why?
You make too much sense. 06880 went off the rails on this one. It’s time to take a long, deep breath and get the facts.
The tree warden was not aware the owners intended to take down the tree. A neighbor called him as it was being removed and he claimed he had no knowledge of it. If the anonymous poster can substantiate their claims, am interested to hear more.
Up here in Massachusetts, you do not have to notify the tree warden in order to take down a tree on your own property. Are you saying that is the actual required procedure for all tree take downs in Westport?
Anonymous? Fake email? Screw him/her….probably a liar.
I am baffled ( and very saddened) by this news! From the feeling in these comments we all are ( and angry too). But we are the ones who care. How do we translate this into actionable actions?
The fact that the homeowner was able to cut down a recognized champion tree without any process is mind boggling in this time of climate change, air pollution warning, etc etc… Our trees are sick, we lost the elms, the ash trees are being ravaged by the ash borers, now the beech leaf nematodes are devastating the elm genus. Every mature tree, especially the native ones are a treasure. Our ecosystem is off balance.
How do we go about giving conservation some teeth. At the very least a wait period, like for historical building, or a process similar to a zoning variance as removal of an adult healthy tree, let alone a tree champion, affects the entire neighborhood. I understand my home, my castle, but I am questioning why someone would buy a house with the intention of taking down a majestic tree.
Some homeowner I have talked to mentioned they will replace trees ( and sometimes it is mandated by conservation) but more often then not, the replacement are hedges of green giant who cannot replace the ecological function of a 200 year old specimen.
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!
How do we go about changing our regulations?
And you know the tree was taken down “without any due process” how, exactly? What’s next, picketing the homeowners?
Until the facts are known, please cool it with worn out calls of shame, shame, shame.
Hi Russell,
To my knowledge, and please educate me if I am wrong, there is not a process for an homeowner has to go through to take down a recognized Ct champion tree or any trees over 100 years ( for example). There is a process for demolition of old residences in Westport, but not trees. I wish there was such process for our environmental assets. This would actually avoid this controversy. If the tree needed to come down for safety reason, this would be noted, and the process would go forward and be transparent.
I walked by that tree countless times as a teenager on my way home to 65 Kings Hwy. North. My best friend lived at 81 Wright Street. This is truly a devastating act perpetrated on a defenseless majestic tree. I now live in coastal SC and we are currently battling the insane development and unscrupulous developers who will cut down anything in their way. Unfortunately, it takes the loss of a landmark tree, usually a centuries old live oak to get the attention of county administrators to revisit our tree ordinance and increase the fines. When trees of this size and importance are taken down, there is no amount of money that can replace them.
I had a very similar tree on my property. Probably just as old if not older, as my house was built in 1859. It had 3 large leaders. One was struck by lightening in storm sandy and fell hitting my house. The other two would destroy two neighbors houses if they were to fall. You have to take in to account that although precious, these gigantic trees can become a liability and mine became a constant source of worry. They also notoriously shed branches, some very large. The last thing I wanted to do was take down that tree. I cried all that day. Not to mention the cost of $4,500.00. I destroyed the feng shui of the whole yard as well. So please don’t rush to judgment on this home owner.
The truth always comes from the truthful facts. Quite a bit of a distortion of facts seem to be in play here. Why does the truth only come from an anonymous commenter. The facts and truth does not need the mask of “anonymous”!
Either the tree watden is being truthful or just CWA! From what I have learned about many big maples is thst almost all of the older specimins have interior degredation but that does not mean death especially when the largest portion of thdir interior is alive and working. Sick snd dying trees generally exhibit drastically thinner growth rings which occur on thd outward area of the trunk. That does not seem to be visually supported by the picture of this maple. We will probably learn the so called “arborists” were possibly either K&J or other tree companies looking for a nice big $ job? I don’t know who the builder or property owner is but if this was a ” buy old home, spec. remodel or build new for profit” then we might suspect Westport’s procedures and rules were “played” as we’ve seen many times.
Well let’s see the facts and truths from non-anonymous sources! This great old Maple deserves that!
What a tragic thing to read this morning. The tree was nearly as old as the independence we just celebrated as a nation yesterday and apparently in good health, while many do not make it to that ripe old age. And while rightly noted that property owners can do as they please, somehow the historical significance of this tree should trump independence it seems. But it’s also the arrogance and entitlement we witness daily that continues to boggle the mind as others have noted. Manners and good neighbourliness seem to severely lacking more and more with instant gratification and selfishness taking pride of place.
Absolutely barbaric, it’s so sad to see the historic legacy of our town slowly be destroyed underfoot by developers with no concept of the sacred or beautiful just to make a quick buck and move on to the next town, making the same cookie-cutter, cheap SIR and other “developer” houses. And the Town Council and Tree Warden never seem to do anything about it! I love Westport, but it doesn’t seem to love me back.
Just FYI to respond to the note by Dusty. For those that are worried about lightning, you can place a lighting rod on your tree as we have on our 200 year old tree. We also have several lightning rods on the roof of our over 200 year old house.
Chill pill until the facts are verified.
In regard to the anonymous comment, might that be supported by this anonymous person supplying a report from one of those three arborists and/or the tree warden?
The arborists, tree warden and homeowner are under no obligation to explain, report or justify what the homeowner does or doesn’t do with their own trees on their own property. It isn’t anybody elses business and frankly, people would be a lot better off if they minded their own business and refrained from commenting about other people’s circumstances they know nothing about.
But Russell, that’s not the way it works in 06880.
I sure hope some fella doesn’t get the idea to open a pool parlor right there in River City. Then you’ll have trouble, my friends, trouble, right there is river city.
“Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep”
– the Music Man
I am a family member who was involved in the sale of our family home. The new owners surely knew about the champion status of the tree and they seemed to very much care about the history of the falling down home and overgrown property (don’t get upset when you see work crews there— much of it needs be demolished due to rot and dangerous ancient systems). The tree was huge and old and would now and then drop giant limbs. A couple of years ago one fell and poked a huge hole in the roof. We dont know if it was diseased or was dying – you can make guesses from the one photo here, but I have to assume the owners had the best intentions. Trees get old, and like everything, they eventually die. It’s devastating to us to see it go, but I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt to the new owners, and we will grieve the poor old gal like so many of you. She was like another member of the family. So sad to say goodbye.
Enough has likely been said about the tragic loss of this beautiful tree that was such a vital centerpiece of our neighborhood. It grew up and aged side-by-side with the historic homes that surrounded it. We are all grieving. Just a point of clarity. 06880 provides a valued platform for people to express their opinions, observations and commentary. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, Russell and Eric, something that you each exercised in your own comments with this post. “Minding your own business” and “refraining from commenting” are pretty dangerous limiters in our democratic society.
Rick, you raise a valid point.