It is located on land that was once owned by President George Washington. Washington bequeathed the property, which he knew as Walnut Tree Farm, to his overseer Tobias Lear, who managed the property until his death in 1816. The property was subdivided and changed hands several times over the next century. In 1919, 25 acres that included the osage-orange tree were purchased by Malcolm Matheson Jr., who created a 'gentleman's estate'. In 1973, Matheson sold the property to philanthropist Enid Haupt, who donated it to the American Horticultural Society (AHS). The AHS established their national headquarters on the site and have carefully maintained and upgraded the property and cared for the historic trees on site.
The main structure of the tree comprises 5 discernible stems that diverge above ground line. Three of these stems are tightly appressed at breast height, forming a single fused trunk that contributes most of the tree's height. To the backside of the tree are two oblique stems, one stretching over the garden wall and the other over the main house. These stems are supported by ancient brace rods and support cables. One stem has formed a natural prop on the garden wall. The measurers decided to incorporate these two stems and the large fused trunk into the total trunk circumference measurement by measuring them at 4.5' above ground and calculating a composite functional circumference. The individual measurements were 199"", 81"", and 104"". A basal tape wrap of the entire clump of stems near ground line was 277"", but this would not be an equitable measurement with other osage-orange specimens.
J. Sprouls Aug-19