Difference between revisions of "Eucalyptus"
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* COOPER, Ellwood. '''Forest Culture and Eucalyptus Trees''' San Francisco: Cubery and Co. | * COOPER, Ellwood. '''Forest Culture and Eucalyptus Trees''' San Francisco: Cubery and Co. 1876. 237 pages + errata, 7 x 4-1/2 inches, gold stamped cloth. Catalogued in 1995 for $150. [original in SCIF archives; gift of Marla Daily] | ||
* '''1894'''. HEATH, E M. '''A Guide to Rides and Drives in Santa Barbara...and Its Vicinity''' with a map of the country and some general information of use to tourists. San Francisco: C. A. Murdock & Co., Printing. San Francisco, (1894.) Stapled wraps. Map tipped in. | * '''1894'''. HEATH, E M. '''A Guide to Rides and Drives in Santa Barbara...and Its Vicinity''' with a map of the country and some general information of use to tourists. San Francisco: C. A. Murdock & Co., Printing. San Francisco, (1894.) Stapled wraps. Map tipped in. | ||
[original in SCIF archives; gift of Marla Daily] | [original in SCIF archives; gift of Marla Daily] | ||
Revision as of 19:46, 2 April 2026
EUCALYPTUS TREES are found on Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa islands on the northern Channel Islands, and on Santa Catalina, San Nicolas and San Clemente islands on the southern Channel Islands. Trees planted by Alvin Hyder on Santa Barbara Island did not survive.
Eucalyptus were first brought into California in 1869 and successfully planted in the Riverside area. Goleta Valley rancher Ellwood Cooper, introduced the trees to Santa Barbara in 1872, and by the mid 1870s had planted some 50,000 trees of more than 50 varieties. Cooper hoped the trees would become a source of lumber, but the wood’s grain made sawing and shaping difficult. They were useful for railroad ties and wharf pilings. Beginning in 1888, John Stearns, owners of Stearn's Wharf in Santa Barbara, began replacing his traditional redwood or fir pier pilings with eucalyptus, in hopes they would last longer than the traditional 4-7 years. The wood was hard, it often times cracked and twisted, and although it was a less expensive wood, it lasted about the same length of time.
November 9, 1910 [SBMP]: “Repairs on the commercial wharf are in progress, about sixty eucalyptus piles being driven to take the place of those whose usefulness has ceased.”
- COOPER, Ellwood. Forest Culture and Eucalyptus Trees San Francisco: Cubery and Co. 1876. 237 pages + errata, 7 x 4-1/2 inches, gold stamped cloth. Catalogued in 1995 for $150. [original in SCIF archives; gift of Marla Daily]
- 1894. HEATH, E M. A Guide to Rides and Drives in Santa Barbara...and Its Vicinity with a map of the country and some general information of use to tourists. San Francisco: C. A. Murdock & Co., Printing. San Francisco, (1894.) Stapled wraps. Map tipped in.
[original in SCIF archives; gift of Marla Daily]
- EUCALYPTUS TREES: ANACAPA ISLAND
- EUCALYPTUS TREES: SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND
- EUCALYPTUS TREES: SAN NICOLAS ISLAND
- EUCALYPTUS TREES: SANTA BARBARA ISLAND
- EUCALYPTUS TREES: SANTA CATALINA ISLAND
- EUCALYPTUS TREES: SANTA CRUZ ISLAND
- EUCALYPTUS TREES: SANTA ROSA ISLAND
EUCALYPTUS TREES: SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND
1999 “On San Clemente Island, at the height of the devastation caused by introduced animals, the healthiest plants on the island seemed to be those in a Eucalyptus grove along the ridgeline. A dirt road passed through the grove, and Navy personnel with a sense of humor erected a sign—complete with a hand-painted version of Smokey the Bear—at one end that read, "Entering San Clemente Island National Forest." At the other end, about 100 yards down the road, another sign read, "Leaving San Clemente Island National Forest." The grove has since been removed, but the "entering" sign still remains.” [Schoenherr, Allan A. and C. Robert Feldmeth. Natural History of the Islands of California (1999) p. 45]
EUCALYPTUS TREES: SANTA BARBARA ISLAND
Buster Hyder reported on Santa Barbara Island: “We planted Blue Gum trees in the shape of my dad’s initials, A. H. [Alvin Hyder]. My dad said someday they’ll be flying over here with airplanes and they’ll see my initials on the side of the hill. We planted them on the flat off the side of North Peak. Right there was a big A.H. He was so proud of that, the first thing off the boat he would come up with the water bucket. The ol’ rabbits would chew them off, and we knew they were gone. That was about 1919, pretty close to 1920.” [SCIF OP #6, p. 25].
EUCALYPTUS TREES: SANTA CATALINA ISLAND
February 24, 1900 [LAH]: “After experimenting for six years, the Bannings have decided that the only timber suitable for the making of piers in the ocean is eucalyptus, and the new wharf at the Isthmus landing, Catalina, has been constructed of that material. The experiments show that the teredo, that deadly sea-worm, which eats up submerged timbers as sentimental girls devour wedding cake, cares not for the aromatic wood of a eucalyptus trunk, especially if any pine piles are within reach.”
May 3, 1904 [LAT]: “A number of the big eucalyptus shade trees on the Avalon campus were felled by the force of the wind.”
October 23, 1963 [Carey Stanton note]: “I talked with Mr. Joseph B. Banning, Jr. whose father built the Banning House at the Isthmus about 1910. He says to his knowledge there was never a vineyard on Catalina. What shows in this picture [Isthmus] are Eucalyptus trees. He says they were planted for shade for a proposed tent city at the Isthmus.”
1999 “On some islands the Blue Gums are the most conspicuous trees. On Santa Catalina Island, about 90 percent of the nonnative trees are Blue Gums. Ironically, a nonnative beetle, one associated with the Blue Gum in its native range, has invaded the trees on Santa Catalina. The Eucalyptus Longhorn Borer, Phoracantha semipunctata, was first discovered in California in 1984, and now it is threatening the trees on the island; it prefers to attack drought-weakened trees, and the trees on Santa Catalina receive no irrigation.” [Schoenherr, Allan A. and C. Robert Feldmeth. Natural History of the Islands of California (1999) p. 45]
EUCALYPTUS TREES: SANTA CRUZ ISLAND
On Santa Cruz Island eucalyptus trees were planted at least as early as 1885. A large forest in Cañada del Puerto, Bosque de Cabrillo, was planted to serve as a source of pilings for the wharf at Prisoners’ Harbor. This grove appears on a map dated 1885 (#9) with the notation for a portion of it: “forest of eucalyptus which shall gradually disappear.”
December 19, 1916 [SCICo]: “At Prisoners’ Harbor we have rebuilt the outer corral fence, repaired the creek well N.E. of the house, and are now doing creek work west of the gum tree grove as a protection to the road.”
January 9, 1917 [SCICo]: “Work at the Main Ranch is confined to pruning the Vineyard and the felling of Gum trees around the corral.”
January 23, 1917 [SCICo]: “The work at the Main Ranch consists of pruning in the Vineyard. It has been too wet to finish the work at the Sur. The Gum trees around the trees and buildings are all down with the exception of one at the Slaughter House and the one at the corner of the Trasquila.”
January 11, 1919 [SCICo]: “There is not sufficient strength in the present roof of the shops to carry boards and Malthoid roofing. If you wish to do this we will have to at least double the number of the rafters—the present ones are made of gum trees.”
March 31, 1919 [SCICo]: “During the past weeks of heavy wind considerable damage has been done to buildings and trees on all parts of the Island. Barns at Forney’s, Portezuela and Campo Toros have large sections blown away. At Prisoners Harbor a gum tree fell on the chick house that we intended moving to the Main Ranch, and while it is not demolished it will be necessary to take it apart.”
July 1, 1919 [SCICo]: “At Scorpion the alfalfa is making no growth and some of the gum trees in the field are being removed.”
September 26, 1919 [SCICo]: “At Scorpion, Campo Maximo is being disced, water pumped for livestock, and gum tree taken out of the alfalfa.”
December 22, 1919 [SCICo]: “The gum trees are being cut out of the creek at the Selva, the corrals cleaned, and the tanks at the cellar scraped.”
April 19, 1920 [SCICo]: “I have sold the moving picture people 600 lineal feet of young eucalyptus trees @1/2 cent per lineal foot. They did their own cutting and hauling using our teams for which I charged them $5/day and they supplied the drivers. These trees were from 1 to 4 inches in diameter. The schooner is now hauling these to Cueva Valdez @ $75/day...”
October 3, 1920 [SCICo]: “In regard to cutting gum trees, what do you think about getting some local wood yard to come over and cut some of the trees around the edges of the fields, thin out the large old trees at Prisoners Harbor etc. on a share basis, i.e. leaving a portion of the wood cut and split on the Island. I don’t know that they would do this but ask you how you would view such a thing.”
EUCALYPTUS TREES: SANTA ROSA ISLAND
May 3, 1918 [OC]: “The Vaquero came in on Sunday to get a crew of men and eucalyptus piles to go over to Santa Rosa Island to put in a wharf for the Santa Rosa Island company. The wharf is to be used to ship sheep and cattle. Those who went over were Charles Perdu in charge of the crew, D. L. Johnson, Emil Barsot, John Carter and Elmer Morrison. A drill is to be used to drill in the rock and then it is to be dynamited so as to put the piles in.”
July 10, 1918 [OC]: “Five Hueneme men have returned from Santa Rosa Island where they assisted in building a wharf for the company owning the island. Blue gum was used for piling. The company has several thousand head of cattle on the island. In the party were L. D. Johnson, Charles Perdue, S. Barstow, John Carter and Elmer Martin.”
