Herbie

"Herbie" was an American elm tree located in Yarmouth, Maine, United States. It stood by present-day East Main Street (State Route 88), at its intersection with Yankee Drive, for 217 years (from 1793 to January 19, 2010). At 110 feet in height, it was, between 1997 and the date of its felling, the oldest and largest of its kind in New England. The tree, which partially stood in the front yard of a private residence, also had a 20-foot circumference and (until mid-2008) a 93-foot crown spread. It was so-named when children witnessed some of its diseased limbs being sawn off. "What are you going to do to Herbie? Don't cut Herbie!" they cried, and the name stuck. A plaque on its trunk stated: On May 1, 1834, the town gave Herbie some company by planting rows of elm trees along East Elm Street. From 1957 onward, however, most of them succumbed to Dutch elm disease. As of 2003, only twenty of Yarmouth's original 739 elms had survived. After battling fifteen bouts of Dutch elm disease, in 2007, stripes appeared under the tree's bark, indicating a worsening condition. In August 2009, it was revealed that Herbie would be cut down on January 18 and 19, 2010, at a cost of $20,000. In October 2009, the plaque was removed from its trunk and replaced with a laminated version, and before the end of the year, "The Herbie Project" fund-raising campaign was set up to raise money to care for and plant other trees in the town. After the tree's demise, local woodworkers used its wood to make products to be auctioned off to raise money for the trust.