History of the Forestry Division

The Forestry Division was commissioned in January of 1898. The mayor, Henry S. Dickinson, appointed the City’s first forester, William F. Gale, on February 1, 1898. The division was assigned to the Streets and Engineering Department, and their duties were to care and protect the beautiful trees of Springfield.

The division’s most important assignment was the removal of the Queen Elm in 1898. The Queen Elm measured 23 feet 2 inches in circumference, from 3 feet off the ground. The smallest part of the trunk was 19 feet, 10 inches in circumference. The tree had 9 main branches; the smallest was 15 ½ through the center of the branch, while the largest was 3 feet through.

In 1918 the Forestry Division was moved to the Park Department and has continued to provide care and protection of Springfield’s trees. Over a century later, the goals of Forestry remain largely the same. 

Since its inception in 1898, Forestry has provided services for the City and has handled many emergencies. Downed limbs, trees on houses, and trees blocking roads due to hurricanes, strong winds, and heavy snow have been handled by this division. Forestry is proud of its work ethic and is proud of its history in the City.

Today’s Forestry Division is not unlike the Forestry Division of a hundred years ago. We are dealing with very similar issues such as insects, diseases, hazardous trees, and the expansion of a small city. The Forestry Division’s goals of maintaining the health and vigor of our street and park vegetation has stayed the same over the last 127+ years.  The history of the Forestry Division goes deep, and pride in the department runs strong. This department helps maintain and beautify the landscape of this great city same as we did back in 1898.

City Foresters over the Years

1898 - 1913: William F. Gale

1913 - 1917: J. Alden Davis

1918 - 1962: L. Fletcher Prouty

1962 - 1967: John J. McCarthy 

1967: Seth H. Swift

1967 - 1968: Henry Morin

1968 - 1989: Henry A. Mathieu

1989 - 1992: James Denver

1992 - 2018: Edward P. Casey

2018 - Present: Alexander R. Sherman

Forestry's New Home

In August of 2023, construction was completed on the new Forestry Division Operations Center in Forest Park. The building was named in honor of former City Forester Edward P. Casey for his outstanding work with Springfield's urban forest over his 30+ year career with the City. The building sits next to Springfield's municipal tree nursery, which strives to propagate and grow trees for planting in our City tree belts to reduce costs associated with purchasing from outside nurseries.