Editing Pinus strobus (section)

=== Mast pines ===
During the 17th and 18th centuries, tall white pines in the [[Thirteen Colonies]] became known as "[[mast (sailing)|mast]] pines". Marked by agents of [[the Crown]] with the [[Broad arrow#Use in the American colonies|broad arrow]], a mast pine was reserved for the British [[Royal Navy]]. Special barge-like vessels were built to ship tall white pines to England. The wood was often squared to better fit in the holds of these ships.<ref name=ling /> A {{convert|100|ft|m|order=flip|adj=on}} mast was about {{cvt|3|x|3|ft|m|order=flip}} at the butt and {{cvt|2|x|2|ft|m|order=flip}} at the top, while a {{convert|120|ft|m|order=flip|adj=on}} mast was {{cvt|4|x|4|ft|m|order=flip}} by {{cvt|30|in|m|order=flip}} on its ends.

By 1719, [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]], had become the hub of pine logging and shipping. Portsmouth shipped 199&nbsp;masts to England that year. In all, about 4500&nbsp;masts were sent to England.<ref name=NEF2019>{{cite AV media |people=Asselin, Ray (producer, narrator) |date=2019 |title=Eastern White Pine: The Tree Rooted in American History |medium=Motion picture |publisher=New England Forests |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQs7novlvtA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/bQs7novlvtA |archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live |access-date=2021-03-11}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The eastern white pine played a significant role in the events leading to the [[American Revolution]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-04-13 |title=The New Hampshire Pine Tree Riot of 1772 |url=https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/new-hampshire-pine-tree-riot-1772/ |access-date=2020-07-28 |website=New England Historical Society |language=en-US |archive-date=2020-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728213200/https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/new-hampshire-pine-tree-riot-1772/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=nizalowski>Nizalowski, E. 1997. The mystery of the Pumpkin Pine. Newark Valley Historical Society, Newark, NY.</ref><ref>Sloane, E. 1965. A Reverence for Wood. Balantine Books, NY.</ref> Marking of large white pines by the Crown had become controversial in the colonies by the first third of the 18th century. In 1734, the King's men were assaulted and beaten in [[Exeter, New Hampshire]], in what was to be called the [[Mast Tree Riot]]. Colonel [[David Dunbar (colonel)|David Dunbar]] had been in the town investigating a stock pile of white pine in a pond and the ownership of the local timber mill before caning two townspeople.<ref>{{cite book |title=American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation |first=Eric |last=Rutkow |date=24 April 2012 |publisher=Scribner |page=30 |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4391-9354-9}}</ref> In 1772, the sheriff of [[Hillsborough County, New Hampshire]], was sent to the town of [[Weare, New Hampshire|Weare]] to arrest mill owners for the illegal possession of large white pines. That night, as the sheriff slept at the Pine Tree Tavern, he was attacked and nearly killed by an angry mob of colonists. This act of rebellion, later to become known as the [[Pine Tree Riot]], may have fueled the [[Boston Tea Party]] in 1773.

After the Revolutionary War, the fledgling United States used large white pines to build out its own navy. The masts of the [[USS Constitution|USS ''Constitution'']] were originally made of eastern white pine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=Rebecca Beatrice |title=Construction of the USS Constitution |website=historyofmassachusetts.org |date=June 27, 2017 |url=https://historyofmassachusetts.org/uss-constitution-construction/ |access-date=2021-03-08 |archive-date=2021-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317010239/https://historyofmassachusetts.org/uss-constitution-construction/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The original masts were single trees, but were later replaced by laminated spars{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} to better withstand cannonballs.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

In colonial times, an unusually large, lone, white pine was found in coastal South Carolina along the [[Black River (South Carolina)|Black River]], far east of its southernmost normal range.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} The king's mark was carved into it, giving rise to the town of [[Kingstree, South Carolina|Kingstree]].<ref name="Williamsburg Hometown Chamber">{{cite web |title=History of Williamsburg County |publisher=Williamsburg HomeTown Chamber |url=http://www.williamsburgsc.org/history.htm |access-date=November 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131184534/http://www.williamsburgsc.org/history.htm |archive-date=January 31, 2012}}</ref>

Eastern white pine is now widely grown in [[plantation]] [[forestry]] within its native area.