Tree Information

Common Name: honeylocust

Scientific Name: Gleditsia triacanthos

Native/Naturalized: Native to Virginia

Database ID: 131

Status: alive

National Champion: yes

Virginia Champion: yes

Circumference: 247 in.

Height: 103 ft.

Crown: 112 ft.

Points: 378

Date Last Measured: 2019

Last Measured by: Jason Sprouls, Sarah Gugercin

Date First Measured: 1990

Comments: Reclaimed national champion status in 2019 after being previously listed in 2010. One of two large honeylocust trees located in Godwin Cemetery of Fincastle United Methodist Church. From Historic Fincastle Tour Guide: "Earliest graves date from the mid 1800s and are located along Church Street, on land purchased by James Godwin in 1801 for a family graveyard. A portion of his property was deeded to John Slicer in 1891 for his family burials. At the top of the hill was land owned by A.E.G. Aurick, which passed to the Bolton family. By 1898, the Godwin Cemetery Trustees acquired the properties." An article was written about the tree in the Roanoke Times in 2010. June 2020 article about the tree also ran in the Botetourt Bee.

2019 Update: The tree is healthy and has continued to grow since last measured in 2010. The tree has suffered some damage to the main leader, however, a healthy amount of wound wood has formed. There was some poison-ivy in the tree. The score dropped a bit when height was measured using a laser hypsometer.

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