X

Yes. South Dakota has provided the tree for the National Christmas Tree display in Washington, D.C., two times since the tradition started in the 1920s. A third tree was selected to be displayed at the U.S. Capitol in 1997. The trees are placed annually near the White House on the Ellipse. The Rushmore State provided the tree for the display in 1955 and 1970. In 1955, a 67-foot Black Hills spruce from Nemo was selected. A commemorative sign was placed at the site. In 1970, a 78-foot tree from the Black Hills was transported on a train that derailed twice in Nebraska. Winds blew the tree over on the weekend before the event, requiring new branches to be affixed to it. Later, lights on the bottom half of the tree exploded. The 1997 tree that was placed in front of the Capitol building was a Black Hills Spruce. Source KOTA-TV, South Dakota’s history of delivering national Christmas trees to our nation’s capitol National Park Service, 1969-1973 National Christmas Trees U.S. Forest Service Black Hills Facebook page, 1955 Christmas Tree The Dakota Scout, Black Hills spruce help White House, South Dakotans celebrate Christmas Send questions or feedback to factbrief@sdnewswatch.org. This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they're published. Contact Michael Klinski at michael.klinski@sdnewswatch.org