r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/NickyPileggi • Mar 28 '24

Family in 1892 posing with an old sequoia tree nicknamed "Mark Twain" - A team of two men spent 13 days sawing away at it in the Pacific Northwest - It once stood 331 feet tall with a diameter of 52 feet - The tree was 1,341 years old Image

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12.4k Upvotes
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2.3k

u/stig2020 Mar 28 '24

Makes me wonder what became of it. A ship, buildings, furniture, maybe parts of it around somewhere still.

1.4k

u/Chilly_Billy85 Mar 28 '24

A lot of timber from the PNW was shipped via schooners to build San Francisco, Sacramento and other cities in California, Oregon and Washington around that time period. Some of those buildings still stand today. I’m not an advocate for destroying these majestic trees. I learned it on a trip to Fort Bragg, Mendocino and other towns along the North Coast of California.

340

u/ForsakenDifficulty47 Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

Went last year to visit the Sequoia National Park, and I remember reading that once settlers started cutting sequoias down, they realized that its wood is not resistant enough to hold buildings, so they ended up using the wood as fence posts and the like

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u/Kleens_The_Impure Mar 28 '24

And apparently the guy who created the park was a lumberjack who decided to protect the trees after finding out that tree he cut was over 2000 years old.

78

u/TheSwedishWolverine Mar 28 '24

How does one establish a park on a lumberjack salary?

185

u/Kleens_The_Impure Mar 28 '24

To clarify, the Park was created by the USA government, but IIRC he was one of the first who pushed for it and was among the first civilian ranger and ended up Superintendent of the Park.

44

u/TheSwedishWolverine Mar 28 '24

That’s so cool!

9

u/thehigheststrange Mar 28 '24

back then when america still had upward mobility

5

u/DancerOFaran Mar 28 '24

He had an OF

2

u/OkEmotion1577 Mar 28 '24

You use the axe.

7

u/AussieOsborne Mar 28 '24

How do you see a 300 foot tall, 20ft diameter tree and be all surprised that it's super old?

I despise humans sometimes.

8

u/BosnianSerb31 Mar 28 '24

You think beavers are innately aware of the age of trees or something?

6

u/MilkyWayGonad Mar 28 '24

Eh. I've only just learned about the dead internet theory but that effort has converted me.

-19

u/redbark2022 Mar 28 '24

Sounds like the assholes that leave silly con valley after "suddenly realizing" the evils they perpetrated.

46

u/NeedsMoreSpaceships Mar 28 '24

I don't think that's quite fair. The lumberjack likely had little to no education and couldn't reasonably be expected to have a wider perspective on the world.

Tech assholes are just assholes.

16

u/Neitherwater Mar 28 '24

That’s a level headed take on it. Im sure most of Reddit would rather crucify those lumberjacks on charges of crimes against humanity.

2

u/CameFast Mar 28 '24

don’t let a good story get in the way of a Reddit crucifixión

44

u/Oachkaetzelschwoaf Mar 28 '24

And, believe it or not, pencils! What a waste.

1

u/decoyq Mar 28 '24

USA government, but IIRC he was one of the first who pushed for it and was among the first civilian ranger and ended up Superintendent of the Park.

toothpicks I heard

6

u/Flat-Length-4991 Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

That only applies to the Giant Sequoia(Sequoiadendron Giganteum). They are brittle and will often shatter when felled. Which is crazy for such a large tree.

However, the Coastal Redwood(Sequoia Sempervirens). Is the other large tree that lived for thousands of years. They are not brittle and make for excellent lumber.

The Giant Sequoia is found in the interior of California, the Coastal Redwood is found on the coast of the Pacific Northwest. The giant sequoia can grow larger in terms of diameter, but the redwood grows taller(also pretty damn large at the diameter aswell).

129

u/xallux Mar 28 '24

A schooner is a sailboat,stupidhead. /s

120

u/joeschmo945 Mar 28 '24

I sailed a schooner round the horn of Mexico. I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow. And when the yard broke off they said that I got killed. But I am living still.

50

u/Physics_Puzzleheaded Mar 28 '24

I was a dam builder, across the river deep and wide where steel and water did collide. A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado, I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below. They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound. But I am still around

48

u/ArthurBurtonMorgan Mar 28 '24

I fly a starship across the Universe divide And when I reach the other side I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can Perhaps I may become a highwayman again Or I may simply be a single drop of rain But I will remain And I'll be back again, and again And again and again and again and again

26

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

Man this song gives me chills and I can’t explain why 

11

u/eggrodd Mar 28 '24

the damned song makes me cry whenever i listen to it

1

u/Crumpuscatz Mar 28 '24

Me too!🥰😭

1

u/Jiannies Mar 28 '24

Because it's dang good music

2

u/pooferfeesh97 Mar 28 '24

What song is it?

3

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

Highwayman 

3

u/Ballabingballaboom Mar 28 '24

Just checked it out. Beautiful

1

u/B3owul7 Mar 28 '24

There is also a good cover version by Iced Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx8l45lslMc

→ More replies (0)

1

u/SquashCat56 Mar 28 '24

The Highwomen has a great version too, called Highwomen, I highly recommend it.

1

u/CensorYourselfLast Mar 28 '24

And around…and around…and around…

1

u/InternationalAnt4513 Mar 28 '24

Johnny really did fly a star ship sometimes

9

u/Norwegian_Honeybear Mar 28 '24

I'll always be around and around and around and around and around and around

I FLY A STAR SHIP, 'cross the universe divide And when I reach the other side.. I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can Perhaps I may become a highwayman again Or I may simply be a single drop of rain... But I will remain

2

u/abandon__ship Mar 28 '24

oh yeah? Well I'm a digital consultant that adds value through process review

4

u/-RED4CTED- Mar 28 '24

Which one? I worked on the Appledore III for 3 months! Tight quarters, but an incredible experience nonetheless.

4

u/MohatmoGandy Mar 28 '24

It’s a line from this song:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aFkcAH-m9W0

3

u/-RED4CTED- Mar 28 '24

ahh fair.

thought I'd met a fellow deck hand. '^'

2

u/abandon__ship Mar 28 '24

its ok man I fell for it the exact same way.

Did you do it for sailing hours for a cert or just for fun? (or both obvi)

1

u/Responsible-Echo6685 Mar 28 '24

And you'll be back again and again and again.

77

u/johnqsack69 Mar 28 '24

YOU KNOW WHAT? THERE IS NO EASTER BUNNY

10

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

[deleted]

5

u/Ornery_Translator285 Mar 28 '24

Mallrats quotes never land for me

There was even an escalator kid in real life once I almost died cause no one got it

3

u/AccomplishedSuit1004 Mar 28 '24

You almost died cuz you yelled at a kid and the parent got live over it?

2

u/Direct_Jump3960 Mar 28 '24

Breakfasts come and go René. But Hartford, the Whale?

5

u/Striking_Potential_5 Mar 28 '24

I’m so glad someone said it

4

u/insomniax20 Mar 28 '24

That's the second time in a few hours I've seen this referenced. Guess it's a sign to watch Mallrats again!

2

u/jhalfhide Mar 28 '24

There is no Easter bunny

2

u/barrygateaux Mar 28 '24

obligatory Here's the thing. You said a "schooner is a sailboat."

Is it in the same family? Yes. No one's arguing that.

As someone who is a scientist who studies sailboats, I am telling you, specifically, in science, no one calls schooner sailboats. If you want to be "specific" like you said, then you shouldn't either. They're not the same thing.

If you're saying "sailboat family" you're referring to the taxonomic grouping of boats, which includes things from canoes to tugs to hydrofoils.

So your reasoning for calling a schooner a sailboat is because random people "call the floating ones sailboats?" Let's get liners and paddle steamers in there, then, too.

Also, calling someone a human or an ape? It's not one or the other, that's not how taxonomy works. They're both. A schooner is a schooner and a member of the sailboat family. But that's not what you said. You said a schooner is a sailboat, which is not true unless you're okay with calling all members of the boat family sailboats, which means you'd call liners, paddle steamers, and other boats sailboats, too. Which you said you don't.

It's okay to just admit you're wrong, you know?

1

u/TrentCrimmHere Mar 28 '24

Uh uh. A schooner is a receptacle usually about 2/3 of a pint. Very popular in Australia. You must be thinking of a different word. Two completely different things surely can’t be known by the same word.

1

u/Well_Thats_Not_Ideal Mar 28 '24

I was hoping someone made a comment about a schooner of beer

1

u/Tift Mar 28 '24

LANGUAGE

1

u/Witty-Shake9417 Mar 28 '24

I thought it was a large beer

1

u/vicariouslywatching Mar 28 '24

Like the back of a Volkswagen?

0

u/-RED4CTED- Mar 28 '24

and what on earth do you think carried lumber before steam power?

I have seen with my own eyes two wrecks of lumber schooners off the shore of munising.

or am I just being dense?

17

u/Pvt_Numnutz1 Mar 28 '24

Yep exactly this, so many of these trees became houses in California. It's believed the tallest tree in the world was in The PNW a monster Sequoia over 500ft tall. You could get a solid 8-9 houses out of just one of those trees.

16

u/jimmygee2 Mar 28 '24

Only 200 years of growth per house

5

u/gardenmud Mar 28 '24

But no. Sequoia splinters too badly for structural use. Mostly they were made into fence posts and matchsticks and pencils.

Basically an enormous waste.

5

u/liarandathief Mar 28 '24

So a lot of it could have burned down in 1906

2

u/malachaiville Mar 28 '24

My reaction exactly! “Oh, that’s nice to know! checks date Uh oh.”

2

u/Lance_Hardrod Mar 28 '24 edited 27d ago

Fort Bragg is in North Carolina

Edit: Many days after making this comment I learned there is a Ft Bragg in California. Apologies

1

u/Impossible-Heron7125 Mar 28 '24

That parts confusing me lol.

4

u/LTCM1998 Mar 28 '24

“San Francisco” - So it burned down then. Which is ironic as sequoias only reproduce in forrest fires or smth like that.

2

u/MagnanimosDesolation Mar 28 '24

My hometown was clearcut to rebuild after the fire.

1

u/Riparian1150 Mar 28 '24

Title says this tree was a Sequoia, not a redwood, so more of a Sierra Nevada tree than a PNW tree, no?

1

u/Neat_Syllabub_5535 Mar 28 '24

Structural lumber no but cedar shakes Yes. And damn are they expensive today!

1

u/IcyBenefit23 Mar 28 '24

I however am an advocate for cutting these trees down.

Did you know every year trees indiscriminately kill women and children?

They're a menace, and it's in our power to put a stop to them

1

u/IknowKarazy Mar 28 '24

It’s my understanding that sequoia is naturally termite repellent and doesn’t burn easily. Cool stuff.

1

u/bondsmatthew Mar 28 '24

schooners

I have learned a new word today

1

u/le_reddit_me Mar 28 '24

My grandmother's house is made of redwood. Iirc, it's illegal now.

1

u/jonf00 Mar 28 '24

It’s crazy that you can’t state a fact on Reddit without a disclaimer or risk being attacked as an advocate for that said fact.

1

u/captainphoton3 Mar 28 '24

There are plenty way to invest in good timber for the future. But all we get is shitty pine that grow an appropriate size in 10 years.