The two oldest trees on the Bates College campus, a hemlock and a red oak, have stood side by side for at least 151 years. Despite their proximity to several campus buildings—including Coram Library, Carnegie Science Building, and Ladd Library—the trees were not removed during construction projects that surrounded them over the decades.
According to the recently expanded interactive historic map of Bates College, created by the Muskie Archives, these trees predate every building in their immediate vicinity. The map was previously only accessible via campus WiFi but is now available online to anyone with an internet connection. In addition to information about campus buildings, memorials, and class gifts, users can explore details about significant campus trees through photographs and captions.
Sam Howes, reference and digital initiatives archivist at the Muskie Archives, conducted research into the history of these and 19 other campus trees. The earliest documented evidence of the hemlock and red oak appears on an 1875 bird’s eye view map of Lewiston and Auburn. The map was published by J.J. Stoner of Madison, Wisconsin; its artist may have sketched from a balloon to achieve such perspective. “I believe what actually happened is he would go up in a balloon,” Howes said.
Howes emphasized the importance of this particular map: “This is the only map from this time period that is accurate for the Bates campus,” he said. He noted that other maps from that era often depicted planned buildings that were never constructed.
Archival images support written records regarding these trees’ longevity. A 1913 interview with Professor Jonathan Stanton described them as natural growths on campus. William H. Sawyer Jr., Class of 1913 and former biology professor at Bates College, wrote in a November 1933 edition of Bates Alumnus: “Of the original trees on campus, if there are any, the red oak and hemlock at the corner of the Carnegie Science Building, three large elms on Campus Avenue, and the mixed hardwood and evergreen growth adjacent to the heating plant and ‘Lake Andrews’ are probably the only survivors.”
Over time, photographs have captured both trees as landmarks—visible even before much of today’s campus existed—and chronicled their development alongside new construction.
The historic mapping project began almost two years ago under Howes’s leadership with support from Caitlin Lampman (education and engagement archivist), Pat Webber (college archivist), and Jake Paris (senior web developer). The project continues to evolve through crowd-sourced contributions from members of the Bates community as new documents or photographs emerge.
Howes reflected on his ongoing research process: “And then you find stuff accidentally,” he said. “I’m actually in the middle of scanning a bunch of things now that I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, I need to add that in.’”
