I explain to my guys, especially the new guys, the significance of some of these trees we manage. We talk about that. It means something to us to work on a tree with history like this.

"I explain to my guys, especially the new guys, the significance of some of these trees we manage," said Dave Love, Longwood's longtime director of landscaping and grounds. "We talk about that. It means something to us to work on a tree with history like this."

Unfortunately, the White House magnolia tree's age, size and location make relocation impractical and far from a certainty that the tree would survive the delicate excavation process. The tree has already surpassed the typical 80-to-120-year life expectancy of a southern magnolia, which would likely amplify the physical trauma of a relocation.

But since 2022, Love and his team have carried out a years-long preservation effort that will one day seed multiple descendants of Farmville's White House magnolia and, in one way, keep the stories of the Bland and Evans families alive and well among the dense local lore of Farmville.

That process takes advantage of a reproductive trait of the magnolia in which offshoots that sprout from the tree's roots-called "suckers"-can be harvested and replanted to grow a new tree. It's the same process Robert Evans likely used to bring the White House magnolias to Farmville more than a century ago.

Love, a certified arborist who has overseen Longwood's landscaping and grounds operations for more than 15 years, has long been aware of the tree's origins. And in 2022, shortly after the Town of Farmville began the planning phase of the new roundabout construction project, he launched his own efforts to preserve the magnolia for future generations.

"Trees are just like us in that they have a lifespan. And if you can save a tree, you save it," he said. "A lot of people think a tree's lifetime may be a lot longer, but that's not always the case, whether that's because of disease, construction, weather or other factors. We can do a lot to try and save a tree, but there's no guarantee it will make it."

Given the uncertainty that the massive magnolia would survive relocation, Love initiated a two-pronged approach to propagate the tree's descendants. Harvesting the suckers four years ago was the first step, and that process has since produced three descendants that are currently growing at an off-campus site. Those remain under the dutiful and watchful eyes of Longwood's landscaping professionals, and when the saplings become strong enough, Love and his crew will relocate them to Longwood's campus and, in partnership with the town and community, other sites around Farmville.

But that's not the end of Longwood's efforts. On the same property where Bland first planted the White House magnolias, the remaining tree also seeded an additional group of healthy descendants that have grown past the sapling phase and currently reach as high as 10 feet tall. Love's team recently excavated those and replanted them at a nearby grow site, just as they did the suckers from years ago.

"It's not always about tearing things down," Love said. "It's about putting things back."

Longwood Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Larissa Smith, who serves as the university's liaison to the Moton Museum, said the goal of the project is not just about saving a tree through the cultivation of its descendants. It's about preserving the historic magnolia in a way that propagates the tree's related stories of Farmville changemakers and the evolution the tree has witnessed in the more than 120 years since it first became a fixture of Pompey Bland's property.

This magnolia tree helps us to tell the stories of Black citizens who shaped Farmville to be the town it is today. They were part of a neighborhood and community that was fundamentally altered by Longwood's expansion in the twentieth century and the town's continued growth and development.

"Anyone who has studied history knows that the importance and power contained within historical objects rarely originates within the objects themselves," said Smith, whose 26-year career at Longwood began as a history professor in 2000. "Their significance comes from the stories surrounding those artifacts, the people those things touched, and the actions and ideas they've inspired.

"This magnolia tree helps us to tell the stories of Black citizens who shaped Farmville to be the town it is today. They were part of a neighborhood and community that was fundamentally altered by Longwood's expansion in the twentieth century and the town's continued growth and development. Their stories are significant to all of us, and it's important to partner with community members and the town to ensure this history-and the history of this magnolia tree-is remembered and told for generations to come."