Century-old larch tree cut from Ogle County Courthouse lawn

By Vinde Wells

vwells@oglecounty

news.com

A larch tree that has graced the Ogle County Courthouse lawn for more than a century came down this week.

Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle, who oversees county properties, said a tree expert from the Oregon Park District determined that the tall conifer to the northeast of the courthouse was dying, likely due to dry weather conditions in recent years.

“Over the last year and a half it has had substantial die back,” he said. “The tree expert said it was drought damage, and the tree would continue to die, probably about a third of it per year.”

VanVickle said having the tree cut in the winter, while the ground is frozen, means less damage would be done to the lawn.

Tree trimmers cut the branches and the top from the tree on Tuesday morning and were slated to return on Wednesday to remove the remaining trunk.

The tree was one of two larches planted on the courthouse lawn before the courthouse was built in 1891.

Early photographs of the building show the two trees.

VanVickle said the remaining larch tree appears to be thriving.

What is a larch tree?

Larches are conifers that grow from 65 to 147 feet tall.

They are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south.

Although a conifer, the larch is a deciduous tree and loses its leaves in the autumn.

The leaves are needle-like, one to two inches long, and slender.

The needles turn yellow and fall in the late autumn, leaving the trees leafless through the winter.

Larch cones are small, green or purple in color, ripening to brown.