The Kenton County School District (KCSD) reversed its plan to remove an historic ginkgo tree from the campus of R.C. Hinsdale Elementary School in Edgewood.
The large tree, around which the school was built and themed in the late 1970s, was expected to come down in the fall.
The school is set to undergo a major renovation.
“On behalf of the Kenton County School District, we recognize that the ginkgo is a beloved part of the community,” KCSD spokesperson Jessica Dykes said in a statement. “And we are going to build a media center, and art room, and two preschool rooms. The tree will come down in the fall. Hinsdale has utilized all the space we can. The campus is very sloped in the back, and that area is not usable.
“Adding these areas, we intend to pay tribute to the ginkgo tree. We are going to have ginkgo leaves peppered inside the glass. Inside on the ceiling the tubular lights will look like tree limbs. On the floor we will have the pattern of ginkgo leaves. And in the media center, behind the service desk where the students check out books, we will have a formal tribute to the ginkgo tree.”
Soon after that statement, the school district reversed course.
“The KCSD has taken necessary steps to ensure the Ginko tree is protected & will not be removed as part of construction,” the district tweeted. “The goal is to provide world-class facilities for our kids & we will continue to work to find alternative solutions at Hinsdale going forward.”
In 1977, Hinsdale was constructed around the ginkgo tree which predated it on Dudley Road. The school is shaped like a U with an open forum style, which was popular then. Classes were named after trees such as the sycamore pod and oak pod.
It is believed that the tree is about 150 years old.
“I remember my dad taking my sister up the school just before she went there for Kindergarten so she could see that tree,” Edgewood Councilman Ben Barlage recalled. “He took me up ther before I started Kindergarten three years later. The tree was very impressive, especially to a small child.”
As an adult, Barlage looked into the history of the tree, just because he thought it was interesting, and believed it could be the oldest landmark in Edgewood.
Recently he wrote a story for the city’s newsletter, sharing the history of the tree.
Then he found out that the Kenton County School District was planning an addition to the school.Â
When Barlage, an architect, looked at the plans, he saw that the tree was to be scrapped.
He decided to post on Facebook about the plans and received a lot of engagement.
“It wasn’t my intention to get everyone upset, to say it shouldn’t happen,” Barlage explained. “Being an architect myself, I can see both sides. But I would like to see if something can be done. Architects love a challenge; I would like to see a plan B. I think the problem is the budget. I don’t know if they can save the tree. Maybe they could do half the renovation.”
Barlage explained that the property was owned by Civil War veteran George Phillips who operated an iron foundry on the Licking River and maintained a summer home in Edgewood.
Phillips owned the property until 1877 when it was sold to Cincinnati attorney and Congressional candidate John B. O’Neal. Rallies in support of World War I were held in front of the tree, Barlage said.
But even with the history, Barlage was sympathetic to the school district’s situation and the challenging topography of the Hillsdale campus.Â
“I guess why I said something is because I wanted people to know, and I know that they (the school district) were keeping on the down-low,” he said. “I don’t like that they are cutting down an iconic tree because they need more room. History is important. But I guess they will find out just how old the tree is this fall.”
Instead, it now appears that the tree will still stand and its precise age will continue to be a mystery.
-Patricia A. Scheyer, RCN contributor