‘The Lady’ is now a splinter of her former self

“The Lady” is gone, but she left behind a lot of board feet as a reminder of her long residence in Colorado Springs.

The Lady was the nickname bestowed by its owner on the largest elm tree in the state, as determined by the Colorado Tree Coalition. For more than a century, the elm grew tall, thick and stately behind a small house on Prospect Street.

A few weeks ago, a crew from the city forestry department was forced to fell the 85-foot tree, with a trunk circumference of more than 17 feet, after it was struck with Dutch elm disease.

An enterprising local builder, Bruce Couture, bought the remains of the great tree after its bark was stripped and turned to mulch to kill the elm beetles.

Couture, owner of Primitive Log and Timber Works, spent two weeks in a city-owned yard with his portable sawmill, reducing the tree to massive beams of wood, most measuring 26 inches square by 10 feet long.

“This tree was headed for the grinder,” he said. “The people at City Forestry were great. They didn’t want to see that happen, either.”

Couture has made a career out of rescuing natural resources — and history — that others have discarded.

Over more than a decade, he has reclaimed and relocated Civil War-era cabins from the Midwest, moving and reconstructing them in the West. He also makes replica 19th century cabins, employing century-old tools and techniques and using timber he cuts locally that otherwise would have ended up as firewood or mulch.

Couture estimates he recovered 3,000 to 4,000 board feet of beautifully grained timber from The Lady. He said that’s enough to install custom flooring through the kitchen and dining room of a large house, construct cabinets and probably have enough wood left to trim an entire custom house.

Couture doesn’t want to sell the wood piecemeal, for both practical and aesthetic reasons.

Although the wood would look great in a custom home, he’s hoping it ends up gracing a public space in Colorado Springs, perhaps a public event center or art space, with a plaque explaining its significance.

“It’s been around more than 100 years,” he said. “It has stories and a unique history. It deserves to have a sweet ending to a great life.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0197 or bill.mckeown@gazette.com

WANT MORE WOOD?

To inquire about buying the remains of “The Lady,” once the state’s largest elm tree, or to see Bruce Couture’s craftsmanship with wood, visit www. primitivelogandtimberworks.com