04/30/2026
A lone elm tree is alive, well and disease-free in South Buxton Cemetery as Earth Day 2026
approaches on April 22.
Estimated to be 75 feet tall, the tree is a classic, arborist Ira Stockwell of Colonial Tree and
Landscaping in Buxton said Tuesday, and shows no sign of the dreaded Dutch elm disease
that has ravaged Maine elms for about a century.
“The genetics are perfect, classic American Elm,” Stockwell said after examining the tree this
week. “A perfect specimen.”
Stockwell estimates the age of the tree at 150 to 250 years old. Richard “Sandy” Atkinson,
president of the cemetery association, is a Buxton native and remembers the tree from his
youth. He said in an email that he’s 90.
The tree doesn’t have a name as did “Herbie,” Yarmouth’s famous elm that fell victim to
Dutch elm disease and was taken down in 2010. Herbie was touted then as New England’s
largest elm at 110 feet tall. Jan Ames Santerre, project canopy coordinator at Maine Forest
Service, said in an email April 21 that Herbie was determined to be 225 years old once
growth rings were counted after the tree was cut.
“Since elm is a fast-growing tree, none of the specimens come even close in size to Herbie. I
would say that it’s not likely any American elms in Maine are much older than that,” Santerre
said. “Of known trees I would say that probably the oldest are in Castine or Kennebunkport,
and probably more in the 150- to 200-year-old mark. Undoubtedly there is a specimen deep
in the Maine woods on a floodplain somewhere that may be untouched by time.”
The Maine Forest Service reported online in September last year that the elm disease has
been in Maine for decades. “The fungus that causes Dutch elm disease cannot infect an elm
tree on its own and relies on elm bark beetles for spreading spores,” the forest service said,
as Dutch elm disease is an insect-vectored disease.
“The fungus … infects water-conducting tissues, initiating a defense reaction in the host elm
that blocks water transport, first leading to discoloration, wilting and possible early defoliation
followed by expanded wilting and killing of branches, (or) flagging. As the disease
progresses in the tree, wilting and branch mortality expand with trees dying within two to
three years,” the forest service said.
Elm trees, according to the forest service, also connect their roots with those of other nearby
elms, which allows the disease to spread “rapidly.”
“Some large and healthy elms remain on the landscape in Maine,” the forest service said.
“The reason they have not been infected may be that they have some level of resistance or
… due to their seclusion from other elms.”
The elm in Buxton, Atkinson said, is the only one in or around the cemetery. “It sure stands
out,” he said.
Stockwell said the Buxton elm hasn’t shown any signs of Dutch elm disease, and he cited its
isolation. “The tree has never been treated as far as I know,” Stockwell said.
Stockwell also pointed to the tree’s root system for its support along with good soil at the
cemetery. “It’s a beautiful umbrella crown,” Stockwell said. “Haven’t seen any as beautiful.”
