Rare October Nor'easter Takes Heavy Toll on Campus Trees

Saturday’s snowstorm, which wreaked havoc in much of the Northeast, ravaged hundreds of Andover’s prized elms, felling nearly 50 and leaving landmark hedgerows in disarray. Planted over the course of the last 30 years (many in keeping with the Olmsted firm's original plans), the Academy's younger elms paid the heaviest price. Still flush with autumn leaves, many buckled under the weight of trapped snow. The Great Quadrangle hedgerow trees and the restored Elm Arch now bear large gaps, as do the elm-lined streets of Salem, Main and Chapel Avenue. Remarkably, the Abbot Maple Walk still runs in majestic glory past the intact 200 year-old Sherman Cottage oak tree; and, as it has done for more than 265 years, the Great Elm still stands watch. -Amy Morris (Images courtesy of Ron Johnson, Jill Clerkin, Neil Evans and Amy Morris.)