This is all that remains of the Louis Vieux Elm Tree east of Louisville (northeast of Wamego) in Pottawatomie County. The tree was supposedly just a sapling when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 and was around to witness the country expand and grow as the Oregon Trail passed a few feet north of it. The tree was a state champion in 1978 and a U.S. champion in 1979. The tree has since been ravaged by a lightning strike, Dutch Elm Disease and a pipe bomb. The county has now taken precautions to try to save what little of the tree remains. Near the tree are the burials of seven unknown soldiers, a Cholera cemetery and the Louis Vieux Family Cemetery.
