Shipmast Locust - Smithtown, New York. - Historic Trees on Waymarking.com

The Judge made some significant improvements to the streetscape in the village of Smithtown Branch by planting shipmast locust trees along the sides of Middle Country Road. He probably began the project of lining the road with trees sometime after he moved into the Homestead in 1851. He chose the Yellow Locust tree (also known as the Shipmast locust) for several reasons. In the History of Smithtown that he authored in 1883, the Judge wrote: “The tree when standing alone is symmetrical in form, its foliage is dense and of a soft delicate green, pleasant to the eye, and its substance combine to so fertilize the ground that there is always found about the base of the tree, even in sterile soils, a rich velvet sod.” He believed the locust was “unsurpassed” as a “shade tree for” the Smithtown locality, its leaves creating a “dense shade” in the summer, and then with the coming of fall, drying and curling up into an insignificant leaf that was easily blown away by the wind. (J. Lawrence Smith, The History of Smithtown, Smithtown Historical Society, New York, 1961, pp. 27-28.)

The shipmast locust trees that Judge J. Lawrence Smith was not planted by seed. Instead the Judge had to find a mature tree that was sending out shoots and then dig out the sprouts and transplant them. Fortunately, the shipmast locust tree is very hardy and grows like a weed, so the saplings that the Judge planted rapidly took root and grew straight and tall forming an allee through the village of Smithtown Branch. According to the Judge, “the beautiful rows of locust extending the whole length of the street at Smithtown Branch are the admiration of all summer visitors.” (J. Lawrence Smith, op. cit.) The shipmast locust trees are still admired by visitors to Smithtown. Just as the Homestead has become part of the legacy that John Lawrence Smith left to us all, so too are the shipmast locust trees that continue to grace Smithtown.

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John Lawrence Smith was an extraordinary man who had a remarkable career as a lawyer and judge in Suffolk County. A native of Smithtown, born in Nissequogue on September 20, 1816, John Lawrence Smith rose from humble beginnings to establish himself as one of the finest legal minds in Suffolk County and he proved to be one of the ablest of politicians. He eventually moved his family to Smithtown Branch after purchasing the old Blydenburgh residence at 205 Middle Country Road. He became a pillar of the local community and certainly one of the most illustrious members of the Smith family.

John Lawrence Smith was the third son and fifth child born to Richard and Eliza Willett (Nicoll) Smith. Richard Smith was a fifth generation descendant of Richard Smythe, the founder and patentee of Smithtown, and so shared in the proprietary land rights of Smithtown. He inherited a 400 acre farm in Nissequogue and here he raised his family of three sons and five daughters.
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Historic Event: The shipmast locust was planted in 1850. Year: 1850 Species: Shipwreak Locus Approximate Age: 173 Location: Smithtown Library, Smithtown, Website: Not listed

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