Trinity College main quad, ca. 1920s, with elms visible in T formation

Trinity College Commencement, 2019, with ash trees in same formation

Between 1880 and 1883, the Trinity College Trustees allocated funds for the purpose of planting English elm trees on the Main Quad. At the recommendation of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed both Central Park in New York City and Elizabeth Park in Hartford, the trees were planted in a “T” shape, running along The Long Walk and extending into the Main Quad. The first phase, in 1881, planted elms parallel to Seabury and Jarvis (lining the Long Walk), and the second plantings placed trees starting at Northam Towers, extending in the direction of Broad Street.

The elms started dying in the 1950s due to Dutch elm disease and by 1978, only 19 of the 65 original beloved trees remained alive. Between the 1950s and 1970s, funds continued to be allocated to replace the trees, but disease continued to ravage them. In 1977, the Trustees voted at the recommendation of landscape architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill that the elms on the Main Quad be replaced with Marshall's seedless ash trees, which were considered more resistant against disease and weather. Elms were instead planted in isolated places around campus.

The elms became an important Trinity symbol, showing up in organizations, symbols, and songs. In 1882, Trinity student Augustus Burgwin wrote “'Neath the Elms” as Trinity's College song, and it remains Trinity's alma mater today. The song's lyrics directly reference the elm trees and students meeting beneath them, and alumni today still describe their time at Trinity as time spent “'neath the elms.”

The tradition of Trinity's elm trees also lends its name to the Elms Society, founded by the Board of Trustees, which recognizes individuals who have given generous donations, gifts, or other financial commitments through estate planning.

The College Presidential Collar also includes, on its golden seal, “20 replicas of the Trinity elms.”

The Trinity Reporter, Summer 1978.

Trinity College in 20th Century (2000) by Peter Knapp, pp. 237.

The History of Elm Trees at Trinity

The Elms Society