Stump of the Former U.S. Champion Elm Tree
Louisville, Kansas
Louis Vieux operated a ferry across the Vermilion River, and somehow his name was attached to this tree. Experts believe that it dates to the very early 18th century, which would make it nearly 300 years old. It was believed to be America's largest elm -- spared from Dutch Elm Disease by its remote location -- until the summer of 1998, when someone stuck a pipe bomb into its crotch and blew it to pieces. Was the attack prompted by hatred of the Dutch, or of shade, or of vertical things in a notoriously flat state?
The tree is mostly just a big stump now, but one branch of it has survived, and in another 300 years it may yet again capture the Big Elm title.
Stump of the Former U.S. Champion Elm Tree
- Address:
- Oregon Trail Rd., Louisville, KS [Show Map]
- Directions:
- The Louis Vieux Elm. On the west bank of the Vermilion River, 3.5 miles east of Louisville on Oregon Trail Rd.
Nearby Offbeat Places
- Oz Museum, Wamego, KS - 5 mi.
- 30-Ft-Tall Johnny Kaw, a Kansas Answer to Paul Bunyan, Manhattan, KS - 18 mi.
- Grave of Chief, Last Cavalry Mount in the U.S. Army, Fort Riley, KS - 32 mi.
- Child Grave Mystery Dress-Up, Topeka, KS - 31 mi.
