Gardeners pulling three-inch, waxy-leafed seedling trees out of beds likely don’t know those baby trees are remnants of a 19th Century economic development project.
Camphor trees shade many spots in Orange County, particularly in the Old Orange Historic District, and also around Orangefield. Their tiny black seed berries in the fall are poisonous to humans and other mammals. Birds, though, love them. The birds spread the seeds, which easily sprout here.
Texas A&M AgriLife reports camphor trees are native to Japan, China and Vietnam. The local camphor trees could have been brought over from Japan by members of the Kishi Colony, a Japanese farming community started in 1907 by Kichimatsu Kishi in the center of the county. A Texas State Historical Marker on FM 1135 in the area of Terry commemorates the colony.
Taro Kishi (1903-1993), the son of Kichimatsu, in a 1982 interview with the Beaumont Enterprise said his uncle had planted the camphor trees along FM 105 west of Fm 1442. (Taro adapted to American ways so well that he became a Texas A&M football star in the 1920s.)
The camphor trees planted by Taro’s uncle grew for almost 100 years and turned a few yards of 105 into a tunnel of leaves. The Texas Department of Transportation removed the trees for new road construction.
But camphor trees were in Orange County before the Japanese. James B. Seargent began growing camphor trees here in the 1880s. The May 27, 1909, edition of The Daily Leader reads: “Camphor Industry May Become Great Wealth Producer in Orange County.”
The story says that Seargent, who at the time was the Orange postmaster, had started experimenting with camphor more than 20 years earlier. He had gotten three 10-inch trees from Washington (the article did not say whether it was D.C., or the state).
He gave one of the trees to Mrs. Frances Ann Lutcher, and another to Captain J.S. Anderson, and kept one. The first two trees did not survive, but Seargent kept his going. The tree produced the fruit with seed after three or four years.
He grew more trees from seed and shared them around town.
“Mr. Ernest Cooper grew a large tree at his place in front of the Christian church, but cut it down when the tree was about 18 inches in diameter. There are several trees in the front yard of Mrs. S.M. Brown’s place on Green Avenue, near the S.P. depot,” the story read.
Seargent also had several camphor trees in his yard and “a number on his place out of town.”
Camphor was used widely at the time for its medicinal use. It is still FDA approved for insect bites and can be found in Campho Phenique and Vick’s Vapor Rub. Camphor is formed by distilling the leaves and bark of the tree.
And speaking of bark, camphor is in the cinnamon family. The Latin name is Cinnamum camphora.
The Houston Chronicle got word of Seargent’s campho endeavor and also did a story. The story reported Seargent was planning a method to go through acres of the trees and cut the leaves and limbs off at a certain level. Camphor trees are fast-growing. New limbs and leaves, shoot up, and out quickly for another harvest.
The Texas State Journal of Medicine in 1910 reported that Seargent “has demonstrated the fact that one acre will produce about 16,000 pounds, which will net the producer $1,000 to $1,200 ($26,000 to $32,000 in 2019) an acre.
Orange never became famous for its camphor orchards, but the trees were once popular. They provided quick shade and stayed green all year long. The black berries in the fall made a mess on cars and sidewalks. Birds loved the berries and their camphor berry droppings could stain a car, clothing, or a sidewalk.
Now, the camphor tree is considered an invasive species in several states, including Texas.
Camphor trees, though, gave fragrant memories. They had a sturdy trunk and low, thick limbs for tree climbers at a young age. Many a kid in Orange climbed a camphor tree.
Do kids still climb trees?
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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