When we tell the stories about the history of the United States, we usually feature the Founding Fathers, historic documents, and pivotal moments on the battlefield. Rarely do we think about the trees. Yet from the very beginning, trees played a central role in the development of our nation.

The vast forests encountered by early settlers provided building materials for homes, schools, churches, roads, bridges, and ships. In fact, some historians argue that America’s seemingly endless supply of timber was one of the country’s earliest strategic advantages. The white pine trees of New England were especially prized by the British Crown for ship masts, so much so that the King marked certain trees for exclusive use by the Royal Navy. Those markings became a source of resentment among colonists and are considered by some to be one of the many small sparks that fueled the desire for independence.

Trees didn’t just help build communities; they helped defend them. American shipbuilders relied on strong native hardwoods and pines to construct vessels that supported trade, exploration, and national defense. From frontier settlements to growing cities, wood was the material that made expansion possible.

As the nation matured, our relationship with trees evolved. What was once viewed simply as a resource increasingly became recognized as something worth protecting and caring for. The work of foresters, arborists, researchers, conservationists, and tree care professionals helped shape a more sustainable approach to managing America’s urban and rural forests.

Today, the men and women of the tree care industry continue that tradition. Every day, they help preserve public safety, protect property, improve community spaces, strengthen environmental resilience, and ensure future generations can enjoy the benefits of healthy trees.

It’s easy to overlook the role trees have played in our nation’s story. They’re often standing quietly in the background. But from the founding of our country to the neighborhoods we live in today, trees and the professionals who care for them have helped make America what it is.

Tucked between those stories about the generals, presidents, and entrepreneurs, are countless foresters, arborists, conservationists, researchers, climbers, grounds workers, and tree care professionals whose work helped build communities, protect landscapes, and improve lives. They may not be familiar names, but their legacy is all around us standing tall in neighborhoods, parks, Main Streets, and backyards across America.

As I was cleaning out the file cabinet I inherited at TCIA recently, I found a tattered, rolled-up letter tucked away in the very back. While its authenticity may be open to debate, the sentiments of that letter within ring true. Written by an anonymous young tree worker helping build forts and ships during our nation’s struggle for independence, it serves as a reminder that America’s forests, and the hardworking people who managed, harvested, and cared for them, helped shape the country we celebrate today. (Cue the Ken Burns music…)

New Hampshire Frontier – October 14, 1778

My Dear Brother,

I pray this letter finds you in good health and spirits. It has been many months since I departed home, and though I miss our family greatly, I feel compelled to share with you something of this country and the work we undertake here.

Were you to see these forests, I believe you would scarcely credit the account. The trees grow to such height and thickness that one may stand beneath them and feel themself no larger than an ant upon the earth. Great pines rise straight as steeples, and the oaks spread their limbs so broadly as to cast shade enough for an entire company of patriots.

Each day we labor from dawn until the fading of the light. Some fell timber for the construction of forts and blockhouses. Others shape beams and planks for ships intended to guard our harbors and rivers. The sound of axes rings through the woods from morning until evening without interruption. It is hard work, and our hands are blistered and our backs sore, yet there is satisfaction in knowing each tree we raise and each board we shape may serve the cause of Liberty.

I often find myself marveling at the abundance with which Providence has blessed this land. It seems there is no end to the forests. One has the feeling that an entire nation might be built from the timber standing before us. Indeed, I believe it already is. The houses of our settlements, the bridges over our streams, the wagons that carry supplies, the ships upon the sea, and the forts that defend our people all owe their existence to these woods.

Despite the hardships, there is great fervor among us. We are cold at times and hungry at others, but there is a shared conviction that our labor serves a purpose greater than ourselves. We do not merely cut trees or raise walls. We are helping to build a country.

Should our struggle succeed, future generations may walk beneath these same forests without ever knowing the efforts required to secure their freedom. Yet I hope they will care for these woods wisely, for they are among the greatest treasures our nation possesses.

When next you pass through town and see a beam set in a new house or a mast standing proud upon a ship, spare a thought for the laborers in these forests, whose work transforms mighty trees into the foundations of a free people.

Your Affectionate Brother,

Andrew