This Day in Henrico History: Oct. 11 – Henrico neighbors scramble to save tree grove from chainsaws

On this day in 1966, residents of a Henrico neighborhood scrambled to stop a grove of mature pine trees from being cut down beside Tuckahoe Elementary School – only to find themselves bounced from one county official to another as the chainsaws continued.

The unusual episode began when a tree-cutting crew arrived at the wooded area bordering the school and began taking down pines that were reported to be about 30 years old.

Mrs. Walter Byrd Jr. and other neighborhood residents objected and began making calls in an effort to stop the work. They first contacted the school principal, who referred them to the county official responsible for school construction and maintenance. He was out of state.

The residents continued calling county officials while the cutting continued. At one point, they were told that the trees were a Henrico School Board matter and apparently were being removed because an addition was planned for Tuckahoe Elementary.

By the time the bureaucratic confusion could be sorted out, dozens of trees already had been cut.

The episode was unusual enough to attract the attention of the Associated Press, which distributed the story to newspapers around the country under headlines including “Trees Cut in Error” and “Wooded Area Leveled While Women Protest.”

Tuckahoe Elementary, at 701 Forest Avenue, had opened a decade earlier and was undergoing expansion during a period of rapid growth in Henrico’s public-school system.

Sources: Associated Press, Oct. 12, 1966; Manchester Evening Herald; Bradley v. School Board of City of Richmond; Henrico County records.