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Capitol Grounds Christmas Trees
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The regular practice of displaying a Christmas tree on the Capitol grounds is relatively recent. Correspondence of 1919 in the records of the Architect of the Capitol indicates that a Christmas tree was purchased that year. However, it was not until 1964 that a definite procedure was initiated and a tree-lighting ceremony established. In 1963, House Speaker John W. McCormack suggested to J. George Stewart, Architect of the Capitol, that a Christmas tree be placed on the Capitol grounds. A live 24-foot Douglas fir was purchased for $700 from Buddies Nurseries of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, and was planted on the West Front lawn. Each year through 1967 this tree was decorated and a tree-lighting ceremony was held. Unfortunately, a combination of factors, including a severe wind storm in the spring of 1967 and root damage, caused the tree to die in 1968; it was removed in the same year. The 1968 Christmas tree was made from two white pines from Finxburg, Maryland, and was 30 feet tall; the 1969 tree was a 40-foot white pine from Westminster, Maryland. The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service has provided the trees since 1970. Information about individual trees is listed below.
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Year | Tree | Height | Source | 1970 | Norway Spruce | 40 feet | Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia | 1971 | Black Spruce | 45 feet | White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire | 1972 | Balsam Fir | 50 feet | Tennessee National Forest, Pennsylvania | 1973 | White Spruce | 51 feet | Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania | 1974 | Fraser Fir | 41 feet | Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina | 1975 | Balsam Fir | 41 feet | Ottawa National Forest, Michigan | 1976 | Red Spruce | 41 feet | Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia | 1977 | White Spruce | 52 feet | Nemadji State Forest, Minnesota | 1978 | Norway Spruce | 60 feet | Savage River State Forest, Maryland | 1979 | White Spruce | 52 feet | Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin | 1980 | White Spruce | 48 feet | Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont | 1981 | White Spruce | 50 feet | Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan | 1982 | Balsam Fir | 50 feet | Riley Bostwich Wildlife Management Area, Vermont | 1983 | White Spruce | 52 feet | Chequamegon National Forest, Wisconsin | 1984 | White Spruce | 58 feet | Superior National Forest, Minnesota | 1985 | White Spruce | 56 feet | Ottawa National Forest, Michigan | 1986 | Shasta Red Fir | 54 feet | Klamath National Forest, California | 1987 | Norway Spruce | 60 feet | Wayne-Hoosier National Forest, Ohio | 1988 | Balsam Fir | 50 feet | Manistee National Forest, Michigan | 1989 | Engelmann Spruce | 60 feet | Kootenai National Forest, Montana | 1990 | Engelmann Spruce | 65 feet | Routt National Forest, Colorado | 1991 | Blue Spruce (live) | 60 feet | Carson National Forest, New Mexico | 1992 | White Spruce | 62 feet | Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota | 1993 | White Fir | 65 feet | San Bernardino National Forest, California | 1994 | Balsam Fir | 58 feet | Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont | 1995 | Douglas Fir | 60 feet | Plumas National Forest, California | 1996 | Engelmann Spruce | 75 feet | Manti-LaSal National Forest, Utah | 1997 | Black Hills Spruce | 63 feet | Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota | 1998 | Fraser Fir | 50 feet | Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina | 1999 | White Spruce | 60 feet | Nicolet NF, Wisconsin | 2000 | Colorado Blue Spruce | 65 feet | Pike NF, Colorado | 2001 | White Spruce | 72 feet | Ottawa NF, Michigan | 2002 | Douglas Fir | 70 feet | Umpqua NF, Oregon | 2003 | Engelmann Spruce | 70 feet | Boise NF, Idaho | 2004 | Red Spruce | 65 feet | George Washington and Jefferson NF, Virginia | 2005 | Engelmann Spruce | 65 feet | Santa Fe NF, New Mexico | 2006 | Pacific Silver Fir | 65 feet | Olympic NF, Washington | 2007 | Balsam Fir | 55 feet | Green Mountain NF, Vermont | 2008 | Subalpine Fir | 70 feet | Bitterroot National Forest, Montana |
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