The Whitfield Stump

The Whitfield Stump is a preserved stump of a lycopod tree. The tree lived about three hundred million years ago. The tree was in a swamp in Harlan, Kentucky. After a major flood the tree began to sink down into the swamp. Sand and mud buried the tree several feet under ground and began to harden around the tree. As the mud hardened the tree rotted. After many years, the bark of the tree turned into coal. The tree fell through a coal mine during a mining operation. Mr.George Whitfield, the manager of the Clover Folk Coal Company, built a special mining car to remove the stump through widened passageways. It weighs 7,000 pounds and it is 42 inches in diameter. In 1930, the stump was removed from the coal mine and remained in Kitts, Kentucky until 1961. In 1961, Mr.George Whitfield donated the stump to the University of Kentucky’s Geology Department.

Whitfield Stump photo credit University of Kentucky

1971

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It is located beside the White Hall Classroom Building in the center of the University of Kentucky’s campus. Today it is a sandstone shape of the stump. A concrete circle surrounds the stump. Up until 2014 a railing enclosed the fossil. Today the railing is removed and there is a pathway around the remnant. The stumps central location creates the idea that the university believes that the stump is a very important artifact. Whitehall is one of the busiest classroom buildings on campus and there are multiple heavily traveled pathways that surround the artifact. Thousands of students pass by and take notice of the stump everyday. The site of the stump everyday often raises a lot of curiosity amongst students. The majority of students know about the Whitfield stump and that is due to its central location. Its placement in one of the busiest places on campus allows the Whitfield stump to be extremely well known. The location of the fossil creates the idea that it is a significant artifact to the University of Kentucky.

The stump is significant to incoming freshman class of the University of Kentucky. The stump encompasses geological history of Kentucky. To Geology majors the Whitfield stump is truly extraordinary. The fossil embodies life that dates back millions of years ago. The fossil truly adds to the overall unique experience that the University of Kentucky provides for their students. The historical treasures that the university holds aids in creating the all-inclusive education that an incoming student gets the privilege to experience.