General Grant tree

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The National Christmas Tree is in Washington, D.C.

General Grant tree from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

The General Grant tree is the largest Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park. It was named in 1867 after Ulysses S. Grant, Union Army general and the 18th (1869-1877) President of the United States.

President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the "Nation's Christmas Tree" in 1926. On March 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the tree a "National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war. It is the only living object to be so declared ^[1].

Decorations for the Nation's Christmas Tree

The tree is the second-largest tree in the world, after the General Sherman (see Washington tree for details on why the National Park Service lists the tree as the third-largest).

The General Grant tree stands 81.1 m tall, and its diameter is the second-largest of all Giant Sequoias at 8.85 m ^[2] (the Boole tree is slightly stouter at 8.98 m). Its circumference at the base (including the very broad root buttresses) is 32.8 m (108 ft) ^[3].

Once thought to be well over 2,000 years old because of its size, recent estimates indicate that it is much younger at a mere 1,650 years ^[4].