The Bush butternut tree was a butternut tree in Tumwater, Washington, planted in 1845 by George Washington Bush, an African-American veteran of the War of 1812 who became a pioneer of the Puget Sound region and founder of the city of Tumwater.[2] The tree was thought to be the oldest butternut in the United States and possibly the oldest in the world.[3][4][5] Historians are divided on whether Bush brought a seed or seedling with him from Missouri in the United States to the Puget Sound area, then in Oregon Country.[6]
The original tree stood on Bush's homestead, now Bush Prairie Farm[4] and a land trust, near Olympia Airport. It was seriously damaged in a windstorm in 2015, and collapsed on May 1, 2021 at the age of 176 years.[7]
In 2009, a tree grown from a seed of the original tree was planted on the Washington State Capitol campus in Olympia, Washington.[8][2] Another was planted at Washington State University in Eastern Washington in 2014.[5] Another was planted in Centralia, Washington, in 2017, commemorating its founder George Washington, another African-American settler, and his namesake President George Washington.[1]