Eastern White Pine in Rockton's Phillips Cemetery may be Illinois' largest

An unusually large tree reported by a former Rockton cemetery sexton turns out to be the largest recorded Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) in the state of Illinois. It was probably planted by early settlers soon after Phillips Cemetery was formed on June 20, 1865. Eastern White Pines were once prominent in Winnebago County, but settlers logged away almost all of them for their valuable timber.

Named the February Tree of the Month by the Natural Land Institute, this tree is located in the historic Phillips Cemetery on Bates Rd., just south of Freeport Rd., in Rockton. Dimensions are 98 feet tall, 57.5 feet average crown spread and 176 inches in circumference (that's 14 feet, 8” around).

Growing up in Rockton gave Jerri Noller, the nominator of the White Pine, extensive knowledge and connections to the people of this community and cemetery. Jerri was appointed to the Rockton Township cemetery board as a trustee in 1996. In 2000 the board was dissolved and Township Board Supervisor and Board took over management of Phillips Cemetery and Rockton Cemetery. Jerri was hired as bookkeeper and worked with the Sexton until 2005 when the position was vacated. She was then appointed as Sexton herself and held the position until 2019.

After becoming Sexton, Jerri hired a tree contractor to clean up storm damage at Phillips Cemetery. He mentioned that some trees were probably 150 years or older. Jerri said, “I was astonished at the girth of several of them. They were just beautiful. I think that because for many years there had not been many burials in the cemetery the roots had not been disturbed and that contributed to the life and longevity of the trees.  I believe there are 275 burials in Phillips Cemetery at this time.”

After NLI Executive Director, Alan Branhagen spoke to the Rockton Township Historical Society, where Noller is a board member, Noller told him there were large trees in Phillips Cemetery that should be looked at for inclusion in the Legacy Tree Program. Two significant trees, a hackberry and this white pine, were confirmed as having legacy status and were measured by NLI Trustee and volunteer Howard Knodle.

NLI’s Legacy Tree Program with monthly tree recognition continues to highlight trees of historic significance with interesting stories, in addition to finding very large trees that qualify for the Illinois Big Tree Register.

Phillips Cemetery, southwest of Rockton, was officially formed in 1865 on land purchased by Rockton Township from Benjamin Phillips, though several headstones have death dates of 1841. The cemetery was referred to as Old Settlers Cemetery as it was on the wagon train trail and many buried there were those who died on the way to the West – many were children.

At one time the region’s first white settler and founder of Rockton, Stephen Mack, was buried in Phillips Cemetery, as well as his wife, Hononegah. But they were exhumed by the Forest Preserves of Winnebago County in the dead of night on July 23, 1965 and moved back to Macktown.

Eastern White Pine was native to Winnebago County. The largest stand of them was along Hall Creek in what is now Natural Land Institute’s Howard D. Colman Dells Nature Preserve and the adjacent Severson Dells Forest Preserve. Only one sapling from the remnant wild trees remains there now. Historic photos also show native white pines along the lower cliffs of Kent Creek where Tinker Swiss Cottage now stands.

Eastern White Pine was one of the most important trees to western civilization as it was the tallest tree in the British empire, growing to astounding heights of at least 225 feet in New England. These straight towering trees were claimed by the King of England as masts for the royal navy and gave its ships superior power, as the tallest trees from the Baltic at the time were only 90 feet. It’s hard to imagine felling these monstrous trees (many shattered) and then hauling them by oxen to the coast – many an ox was strangled as they traversed the hilly terrain. In many ways, the King’s claim to these trees was the cause of the American Revolution.

Remnant native white pines are few and far between in northern Illinois with the largest stands in Ogle County. It is usually thought of as a Northwoods tree (common in the northeastern half of Wisconsin) but grows southward into northern Georgia along the Appalachians with outlying isolated remnants in our area as far south as Starved Rock and equally scarce in isolated remnants in adjacent Indiana and Iowa. The tree requires bare mineral soil to germinate so occasional fire and exposed rock outcrops are key to its survival in our region.

Eastern white pine remains one of the best evergreen trees for planting in sustainable landscapes in Northern Illinois. The primary use for the trees were for windbreaks on the prairie, a smart move as evergreens’ wind-blocking ability significantly reduces heat loss on buildings sheltered in their wake. The tree has very high wildlife value, with cones filled with nutritious seeds and a good diversity of insects feed on the needles to start the web of life around us.

Natural Land Institute launched the Legacy Tree Program in January 2024. It includes recognition of one tree a month that may be the largest of its kind, or have historical or cultural significance. Anyone may nominate a tree on private or public land from NLI’s 12 county region. Other components of the program, a list of the 12 counties, the online nomination form, and the tree of the month since January 2024 can be found at https://www.naturalland.org/nlis-legacy-tree-program-january/. For more information, call 815-964-6666 or email info@naturalland.org.

About the Natural Land Institute

The Natural Land Institute, an accredited land trust, is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit land conservation organization based in Rockford, Illinois and has protected nearly 19,000 acres of natural land in Illinois since 1958. NLI’s mission is to create an enduring legacy of natural land in northern Illinois for people, plants and animals. For more information and to donate, visit www.NaturalLand.org or call 815-964-6666.