Curtis Tate Published

Christmas Tree From Mon National Forest Arrives At U.S. Capitol

A large flatbed trailer holds a 63-foot spruce tree parked on a road accompanied by police vehicles at sunset on a warm November day.
The truck carrying the U.S. Capitol tree makes an appearance in West Virginia's capital.
Curtis Tate/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

A 63-foot-tall Norway spruce from the Monongahela National Forest arrived at the U.S. Capitol Friday, capping a two-week journey that brought the big tree all over West Virginia.

The U.S. Capitol Christmas tree, which is the first from West Virginia in more than 40 years, will be lighted after Thanksgiving at 5 p.m. on Nov. 28 on the West Lawn, with retiring U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., as the host.

The 8,000-pound spruce was harvested in Randolph County on Nov. 1.

A second, 40-foot Norway spruce from the Monongahela National Forest will serve as the National Christmas Tree at the Ellipse at the White House. That tree came from Tucker County and is the first from West Virginia since 1963.