| Bush butternut | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Species | Butternut ( Juglans cinerea ) |
| Location | Tumwater, Washington, United States |
| Coordinates | 46°58′05″N122°52′55″W / 46.96806°N 122.88194°W |
| Date seeded | 1845 (planted) |
| Custodian | Ray Gleason (arborist) [1] |
| Website | bushprairiefarm |
The Bush butternut tree was a butternut tree in Tumwater, Washington, planted in 1845 by George Washington Bush, an African-American veteran of the War of 1812 who became a pioneer of the Puget Sound region and founder of the city of Tumwater. [2] The tree was thought to be the oldest butternut in the United States and possibly the oldest in the world. [3] [4] [5] Historians are divided on whether Bush brought a seed or seedling with him from Missouri in the United States to the Puget Sound area, then in Oregon Country. [6]
The original tree stood on Bush's homestead, now Bush Prairie Farm [4] and a land trust, near Olympia Airport. It was seriously damaged in a windstorm in 2015, and collapsed on May 1, 2021, at the age of 176 years. [7]
In 2009, a tree grown from a seed of the original tree was planted on the Washington State Capitol campus in Olympia, Washington. [8] [2] Another was planted at Washington State University in Eastern Washington in 2014. [5] Another was planted in Centralia, Washington, in 2017, commemorating its founder George Washington, another African-American settler, and his namesake President George Washington. [1]