Photo Provided One can see how the tree appears to have snapped at this section, leaving a jagged edge still standing.

VIOLA — West Virginia’s biggest tree — as declared so in 1963 — came tumbling down this past weekend in Marshall County.

The Biggest Tree in West Virginia was named thanks to a contest held by the West Virginia Division of Forestry as part of the state’s centennial celebration.

Back in 1963, residents nominated more than 240 trees of 37 different species for the contest. According to signage near the old tree, a sycamore near Viola held the title of state’s biggest. Based on a scoring system, the tree with a 311-inch circumference and 128-foot crown standing 117 feet tall, earned 460 points to earn the honor.

Robert Hannah, urban forestry coordinator for the West Virginia Division of Forestry and Big Tree coordinator, said Monday the Division of Forestry has maintained a Big Tree database since the first Big Tree contest was held in 1963.

“The program was revitalized a bit over 20 years ago with a Division of Forestry forester from each of our 6 Regions being trained as a Big Tree inspector,” Hannah said. “We currently remeasure all trees in our database every 10 years and update our records.

“This sycamore was the largest of its species in West Virginia as well as the largest tree in our database,” he added.

While Hannah said it was impossible to determine the Viola tree’s exact age — the growth rings near the tree’s base decayed decades ago — he estimated the tree to have been between 200 and 300 years old.

“Unfortunately, the base of the tree had decayed to the point where only the outer part of the trunk was alive, leaving just a shell of living and sound wood around a hollow center,” he said. “And as this shell became thinner with age and advancing decay, it was no longer able to support the weight of the crown and upper limbs.

“When any tree reaches this point, it can fall at any time especially during a wind event.”

According to the Division of Forestry, the tree stood along Marshall County Roads 15/1 about a mile downstream of a bridge that spans Wheeling Creek.

Hannah said it appears the new Biggest Tree is also in Marshall County along Wheeling Creek a few miles south of Elm Grove. It is also a sycamore. He noted it is located on private property with no public access.

“Trees today are either nominated by the public or often found by a DOF forester while assisting a landowner,” he said. “We send all new nominations to the local DOF Big Tree inspector for measurement and an inspection report is completed that determines the total Big Tree points for the tree.

“If a new tree scores enough Big Tree points to be within the Top 10 or so of its species, it’s added to our database.”

The new biggest tree has 458 Big Tree points, he added.

Residents of the Viola area took to social media this past weekend, posting photos of the large tree laying across the roadway. Some talked about getting to see the tree and pose for photos with it. One woman noted she had her wedding ceremony by the tree.

It appears the tree had been leaning in the road’s direction for many years.