On the north side of the University of Montana campus, 29 evergreen trees stand in two columns, running from the corner of the Oval to Eddy Avenue. They form Memorial Row, along what used to be the path of Van Buren Avenue.
Their history stretches back to 1919 following the end of World War I. That's when the University planted the original 32 trees to honor men and women, connected to UM, who died in service during the war. Some lost their lives in combat, but many more died of influenza during military training or service in Missoula and elsewhere.
The Forestry School nursery supplied the Yellow Western Pines. They are also known as ponderosa pines and are Montana's state tree.
Originally, a white T-board stood in front of each tree, with the name of the person whom it honors. In 1925, the university replaced those boards with 35 brass name plates atop concrete markers.
At the same time, the University added a memorial tablet on a boulder near the edge of the Oval closest to Memorial Row. It lists 21 of the 31 1919 honorees, those who were faculty, alumni or undergraduates. By 1925, the university had increased the number of names on the official list to 35, and sometime later, it grew to 37.