Champion Camphor's History Revealed

Some Clearwater Patch readers were grateful to learn the history of a more than 125-year-old "champion" camphor tree that grows near U.S. 19 and Gulf to Bay Boulevard, including the great-grandson of the pioneer who planted it.

"It is nice to see a piece of history preserved," Jeffrey Fields, who visited the site with his wife May 5, said in a comment. "This tree happens to have been on my Great Grandfather's property. My Grandfather was one of those children mentioned that William planted the tree so that they could play in it."

The tree is the last of four that were planted by William Frank Fields for his children to play under in 1890 when he cleared 21 acres in the city's outer limits, near what is now U.S. 19 and Gulf to Bay Boulevard.

The trees were planted at each corner of the home to ensure the Fields’ children always had a shaded place to play, according to a March 29, 1979 Evening Independent article.

A "champion" tree is the largest of its kind. The 60-foot camphor tree is rooted in a small patch of grass, sandwiched between two restaurants and across from Clearwater Mall. It has an estimated girth of 30 feet and a crown of more than 90 feet.

The National Arborist Association issued a bronze plaque for the tree February 1975. It gives little information about the history of the tree. 

"My daughter and I walked over to that tree a few years ago so we could read what the plaque said," Wendy Gilmore commented. "We were wishing it had more information on it."

Have you stopped before to look at the champion camphor?

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