At the time of the town’s construction, the American chestnut was one of the most important trees in the Appalachian Mountains. A large tree averaging five feet in diameter, it was well known for its quality timber, nutritious nuts, and creamy-white flowers. Beginning in 1904, a blight caused by an Asian born fungus began spreading through the chestnut forests. By 1950, the native American chestnut trees were gone. While new sprouts continue to grow in the mountains today, they quickly become infected and die. Attempts are now being made to breed the American chestnut with Asian chestnut trees – which are naturally resistant – in order to re-introduce them to our forests. If successful, these new trees would be a crossbreed of our own native original.

Today the congregation at All Saints Episcopal Church not only have the pleasure of assembling in a beautiful rustic church, but also one built of a native wood from the past that we may never see again.

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Story by Dan Hardison.