Garst Museum Replaces Trees Destroyed by Tornado

May 7, 2024, is a date that will live in the memory of many in Greenville. On that date, shortly after 8 p.m., the skies blackened, and the tornado sirens began to wail. As Greenville residents began to emerge from their homes, the realization set in.  

The EF-1 tornado toppled trees along an 11.9-mile path that began to the west of the city and continued through the city limits. Three areas suffered major damage to trees, including the Greenville Union Cemetery and the Greenville City Park. Sandwiched in between both of those areas is Garst Museum.

Immediately following the tornado, trees could be tossed around in the grassy lot between Garst Avenue and Wilson Drive. Garst Museum took heavy damage from a tree that fell into the Americana Wing of the museum that holds the Lowell Thomas collection. The damage caused the museum to close that area of the museum for several months due to the major repairs being needed to repair the roof.

Although Garst Museum was able to clear downed trees, repair its building, and get back to normal operations relatively quickly, replacing the lost trees has been an ongoing process. However, thanks to the funds raised by Zechar Bailey and the YOLO organization and the many residents who donated to replace trees in the Greenville City Park and Greenville Union Cemetery, Garst Museum was able to receive trees to replace the ones that were lost.

According to Lee Ann McAlpine of the facilities and grounds committee for Garst Museum, over 20 trees were completely destroyed or severely damaged. She began attending the city’s tree committee meetings to learn how the city would proceed. The city agreed that the museum was part of the Greenville City Park landscape and agreed to include the museum in its plans.

McAlpine shared that Wendi Van Buren, of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, did an extensive study of the park and the museum to come up with native and other trees to replace those that were lost.

The Garst Museum was awarded seven trees. Through the plan, McAlpine put together a list to be planted around the original house of the museum. The trees planted include Buckeye, Shingle Oak, Service Berry, Black Gum, and Redbud trees.

The city ordered the trees, and they were delivered to the museum, where board members and their families volunteered to plant the trees. “These trees are all about two inches in trunk diameter, so it will give a good start to repairing the landscape,” said McAlpine. “All of these trees were planted around the old house, part of the museum, where large fir trees were lost to the storm. The trees will make the old house portion of the museum feel more like the home it originally was, as well as complement the new Annie (Oakley) garden on the north side of the house.”

Garst Museum is grateful to Zechar Bailey Funeral Homes/YOLO and the city of Greenville for honoring their request to acquire the trees.

The trees are not the only area of the museum where the museum’s landscape has received a facelift. Last summer, Fitzwater Outdoor Maintenance donated staff to assist with landscaping the parking lot entrance and added new hydrangea bushes, lilies, and other plantings. Spencer Landscaping helped spruce up the Lowell Thomas House on the east side of Garst Museum.

New to the museum is the Annie’s Garden etched stone that was installed last year by Lasting Legacy Memorials. Annie’s Garden is a new area on the North Broadway side of the museum that was provided by the Annie Oakley Center Foundation. Wintrow Signs did the production work on the Annie Oakley murals, and Mike Fenstemaker finished the project with slate work.

Garst Museum board members and volunteers help plant donated trees along the Wilson Drive side of the museum.