Ecology

American Chestnut, lost Appalachian history

Anne Gageby
Strawberry Hill Nature Preserve

(9/2022) The American chestnut blight was one of the most devastating ecological disasters in American history and yet it isn’t often spoken of. Despite rich timber barons’ bottom lines being severely affected, the blight has become a blip on our timeline, a cautious tale relegated to the back pages of history. Worse still, poor Appalachian families of the day were ravaged by the loss of income, food, and livestock feed. The blight forever changed the landscape and indomitable spirit of Appalachian culture.

The American chestnut was native to the eastern half of the United States, spreading from Alabama up to Maine. Old forestry maps of Pennsylvania and Maryland show vast chestnut territory. This species was known to reach heights of more than 100 feet with trunks wider than a person is tall. These storied trees sound almost mythological when measured against our modern, new growth forests.

These incredible hardwoods were, at one point, one of the country’s most important and most abundant trees. Generations of Appalachian settlers depended on the American chestnut for lumber and food. Charlotte Ross, a folklorist at Appalachian State University, put it best when she noted, "Chestnuts defined the region. If ever a region was associated with a tree, then the chestnut was our tree."

The American chestnut is a member of the Castanea branch of the beech family. This branch flourishes in the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere. The once grand, towering American chestnut’s scientific name is Castanea dentata, so named because the leaves’ edges resemble teeth. Like other members of Castanea, American chestnuts bear nuts that are high in fiber, low in fat and calories, are good sources of vitamin C, and high in protein. Native Americans and European settlers alike found a consistent supply of food simply by walking into the forest.

Domesticated animals such as hogs and cattle were fed via silvopasturing, meaning they roamed the forests in search of food instead of depending on scraps or premade feed back on the farm. Appalachian pork became well-known for its particularly pleasant taste and quality. Demand increased for this specialty meat which in turn brought in more money and opportunity for farmers even in the most remote areas. Wildlife such as deer, turkey, and squirrel also thrived in chestnut-dense forests. Hunting and trapping supplemented both income and dietary needs. Fortunately, chestnuts are also prolific producers. Unlike oak trees, which may produce an abundance of acorns one year and little the next, chestnuts could be depended upon to produce in abundance year after year.

Another benefit to gathering chestnuts is they require little preparation and handling when it comes to cooking. Chestnuts have an outer shell which can be scored rather easily before boiling, roasting, or being ground into flour. Chestnuts can be eaten raw, though their mealy, sweet meat is generally better when cooked. Compare that to acorns which have stony outer shells requiring special tools and must go through several soak and rinse cycles to be palatable.

Chestnut trees were also a source of medicine for Native American tribes and settlers alike. According to one source*, American chestnuts were noted to produce "Tea of year-old trees for heart trouble; leaves from young sprouts cure old sores, cold bark tea with buckeye to stop bleeding after birth; apply warm galls to make infant’s navel recede; boil leaves with mullein and brown sugar for cough syrup; dip leaves in hot water and put on sores."

Combine all of these factors and it becomes quite easy to see how traditionally poor Appalachian communities depended upon this incredible tree for sustenance. And yet, food has been only a small portion of the American chestnut’s value. Appalachian folk gathered chestnuts to sell as a cash crop every fall. Families often held stores of chestnuts to trade later in the winter as supplies were running low. This, combined with Americans’ hunger for the sweet nut, created a boom in the Appalachian chestnut market.

Chestnuts were hardwoods like oak, walnut, beech, and hickory although generally nowhere near as strong. Nor were chestnut products as refined and beautiful as those made of other hardwoods. Cabinets and furniture made of black walnut, oak, and cherry were arguably more appealing than chestnut. So, what made the chestnut wood desirable? Its versatility. When lumber suppliers ran out of product, American chestnut was a perfectly acceptable substitute.

Many considered it "the perfect tree" because of its durability and abundance. It was a cheaper option for furniture makers who could build tables and desks out of chestnut and finish these items with a fancier wood veneer. It was also much lighter than other hardwoods and therefore was easier to transport at a time when steamships and railways were gaining momentum. The highly acidic tannins in American chestnut guarded the tree against rot which made it ideal for everything from telegraph poles and railway ties to fences. In a 1915 article, American Forestry noted that these qualities have "given chestnut a greater variety of uses than almost any other American hardwood."

Sometime in the late 1800’s, the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica was accidentally carried over from Asia. While harmless on Chinese chestnut trees, this fungus proved devastating to American chestnuts causing what we now call the chestnut blight. Eastern American forests, once dominated by this kingly tree, fell victim to the intercontinental pathogen. Within a generation, the landscape of American woodland had completely changed.

According to The American Chestnut Foundation, the chestnut blight is known as the largest ecological disaster of the 20th century. In many ways, it has left an indelible mark on Appalachian memory. Families could no longer count on a fall cash crop of nuts. Larders, which had previously been stocked with piles of chestnut food reserves, stood empty. Animals – wild and domesticated alike – no longer had a much-needed supply of winter nuts. In short order, game populations dwindled to the lowest in recorded history.

Farmers faced extreme loss. They quickly shifted to best accommodate the weakening food supply, but this meant depending more and more on mass-produced foods. Unfortunately, doing so required cash that was no longer coming in, putting farmers and their families in financial peril. The Appalachian microeconomy came to a grinding halt. The average family size dropped by more than two persons, from 10 persons per household in 1910 to 7.62 persons per household in 1934.

For decades, it seemed as if hope were lost. And yet, there is a tiny ember in the ashes. According to the American Chestnut Foundation, "The American chestnut is not extinct. The blight cannot kill the underground root system as the pathogen is unable to compete with soil microorganisms. Stump sprouts grow vigorously in cutover or disturbed sites where there is plenty of sunlight, but inevitably succumb to the blight. This cycle of death and rebirth has kept the species alive, though considered functionally extinct."

Perhaps in time, scientists will be able to find a way to cultivate a new generation of American chestnuts better suited to fighting off the blight. Until then, let’s take a moment to consider what our forests might have looked like a hundred years ago. Imagine the mightiness of those towering, ancient trees. And hold onto the memory of Appalachian settlers who turned hope into opportunity and failure into resilience. In doing so, we’ll pull this chapter of American history from the end notes and place it before future generations as a lesson on ecological sustainability.