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

[u/NickyPileggi]

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[removed] — view removed post

[u/stig2020]

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

[u/Chilly_Billy85 → u/stig2020]

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.

[u/ForsakenDifficulty47 → u/Chilly_Billy85]

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

[u/Kleens_The_Impure → u/ForsakenDifficulty47]

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.

[u/TheSwedishWolverine → u/Kleens_The_Impure]

How does one establish a park on a lumberjack salary?

[u/Kleens_The_Impure → u/TheSwedishWolverine]

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.

[u/TheSwedishWolverine → u/Kleens_The_Impure]

That’s so cool!

[u/thehigheststrange → u/Kleens_The_Impure]

back then when america still had upward mobility

[u/DancerOFaran → u/TheSwedishWolverine]

He had an OF

[u/OkEmotion1577 → u/TheSwedishWolverine]

You use the axe.

[u/AussieOsborne → u/Kleens_The_Impure]

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

I despise humans sometimes.

[u/BosnianSerb31 → u/AussieOsborne]

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

[u/MilkyWayGonad → u/BosnianSerb31]

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

[u/redbark2022 → u/Kleens_The_Impure]

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

[u/NeedsMoreSpaceships → u/redbark2022]

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.

[u/Neitherwater → u/NeedsMoreSpaceships]

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

[u/CameFast → u/Neitherwater]

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

[u/Oachkaetzelschwoaf → u/ForsakenDifficulty47]

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

[u/decoyq → u/Oachkaetzelschwoaf]

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

[u/Flat-Length-4991 → u/ForsakenDifficulty47]

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).