Comments on: The Davie Poplar

By: Richard Ellington

Richard Ellington — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 01:00:29 +0000

I recently heard of a project that a UNC alumnus is trying to develop some interest for. He wants to get a casting made of the Davie Poplar and then have it reproduced in bronze and stored somewhere securely. Then, when the tree does “go away”, there will be a bronze replacement for it.

I think it sounds like a great idea! Who would need to approve such a project? How could we get a groundswell movement going? This UNC symbol is just too iconic to ever think that it won’t be there.

By: Nick Graham

Nick Graham — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:27:55 +0000

It was much more than the other campuses -- every county in the state received a Davie Poplar seedling. A UNC student did a project on this a few years ago. Her website, listing the recipients of all of the seedlings, is still online: http://babydavies.unc.edu/history/participants.htm

By: Belinda Faulkner

Belinda Faulkner — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:27:30 +0000

I thought I remembered reading somewhere that all the UNC campuses received a Davie Poplar seedling. Is that true?

By: Jason Tomberlin

Jason Tomberlin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:27:55 +0000

Mark and Kevin, thanks for the additional information. You are correct about there being a Davie Poplar seedling in all one hundred counties. The NC Collection has a map of where the seedlings were planted and several other items related to this event from UNC's Bicentennial. However, I think that the Davie offspring came from seeds that were gathered. A few years ago, a UNC undergraduate put together a website documenting this event. The site has an interactive map and other documents from the various tree-planting ceremonies. You can still see the website at: http://babydavies.unc.edu/. Also, I did hear (again with no hard facts to corroborate the story) that my home county's seedling was accidentally cut down! What makes this story particularly distressing is that my home county is none other than....Davie County! Named after William R. Davie himself. Plus, the seedling was planted at...yes, you guessed it...William R. Davie Elementary.

By: Kevin Cherry

Kevin Cherry — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:43:47 +0000

Mark, I think you are correct–but we can always rely upon Bob Anthony’s knowledge of the Davie Poplar cuttings. He is one of the experts on the topic.

I wonder just how many of those carried out and planted around the state as a part of the university’s bicentennial celebration are still alive. I would bet not that many made it through the first couple of summers. But who knows . . .

By: Mark Chilton

Mark Chilton — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:19:16 +0000

I am sure most of your readers already know this, but it’s a good place to point out that in connection with UNC’s bicentennial in 1993, one hundred Davie Poplar cuttings were grown into saplings and one was planted in each of the one hundred counties in North Carolina. And of course, there is the Davie Poplar Jr. which was planted next to the original many years ago. I believe the Davie Poplar cutting-sapling for Orange County is also planted there on McCorkle Place.

That’s all from off the cuff recollection, so someone correct me if I am wrong.