Make That Underwent

Sorry, I'm a little behind the times.  I couldn’t make it, but thanks to those who did.  The woods are looking good.

MORRISVILLE

Graystones Woods undergoing spring cleaning

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   Posted: Friday, May 18, 2012 12:00 am | Updated: 6:41 am, Fri May 18, 2012.

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writer | 0 comments

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Gema Duarte

Local residents will tidy up history this weekend.

The Morrisville Environmental Advisory Council will head to Graystones woods for the annual “Green Up,” which will involve beautifying the area from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. The cleanup is open to the public.

At Graystones, located at what is now the borough’s northeast corner at Crown Street and Highland Avenue, William Penn met with the Lenape Indian tribe in 1682 under a white oak tree. There the British native negotiated the first land-purchase survey in Pennsylvania.

The white oak tree isn’t there anymore — those trees live up to 200 years. But large rocks that stood nearby remain within 6 acres of the woods and are the only remaining landmarks showing the spot where the purchase was made.

To many, Graystones is a treasure not only to Morrisville but to the commonwealth.

For Bill Setzer, a member of MEAC, Graystones is where land purchasing and preservation started, adding that Penn wanted the land for farming.

Setzer said the area has geological and botanical importance as well. Trees dating to the 17th century still stand, though some have died.

A 1977 study concluded that Graystones contains the second-oldest trees in Bucks County. The oldest stand in Harts Woods, outside of Doylestown. The study was conducted by professor David Benner of Delaware Valley College and a group of his students.

When Benner was doing the study, at least 100 trees were more than 100 years old. Another 25 were more than 200 years old, with a few being about 250 years old.

In his study, Benner wrote that Graystones woods is “rather unusual” and “should be preserved and protected as a natural area for future study and observation of a climax type forest situation similar to the virgin forests that once covered much of Pennsylvania.”

At Graystones, a bronze plaque near the rocks reads: “Near this spot stood the white oak tree that marked the starting point of the first tract of land purchased of the Indians by William Penn July 15, 1682, on land in the Tenure of John Wood and by him called Graystones over against the Falls of the Delaware.”

Cleanup participants should meet at the monument, where Crown Street intersects with Highland Avenue. Tools are not required; however, gloves are highly encouraged. Bags and refreshments will be supplied.

The rain date is May 20, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call Setzer, the project coordinator, at 215-736-2794.