Did Wooster have the first Christmas tree in the U.S.?
For decades, that was believed to be true, said Ray Leisy, a local historian and longtime member of the Wayne County Historical Society.
He recalled hearing about it growing up.
“And as I got older it became, you know, ‘the first Christmas tree in Ohio,’” Leisy said. “I guess that was taken away by people in southern Ohio along the river, who showed an earlier date than this date, and then it eventually became, ‘the oldest Christmas tree story in Wooster.’ And I think we can back that part up.”
The root of the local legend comes from August Imgard, a German immigrant who settled in Wooster in the 1840s.
Imgard put up the first Christmas tree in the city, drawing on the tradition from his home country.
“When he got here, he was a little bit homesick,” Leisy said. “So, he decided to make a Christmas tree, which he was used to, along with all the other Germans in Wooster.”
Imgard cut down a blue spruce and decorated it with fruits, nuts and homemade candy canes.
The tradition caught on in town and spread around the region, Leisy said.
Over the years, researchers have since disputed the claim that Imgard was the first to do it in the U.S., or even Ohio.
Even still, the story was a source of community pride, Leisy said.
“It actually knitted the community together a little bit more,” he said. “We found one thing that we can be proud of. All of us.”
The city still honors Imgard by decorating a tree at his family tomb at Wooster Cemetery each year.
Imgard does have one undisputed historic milestone: the first documented incidence of using candy canes to decorate a Christmas tree.
“The National Confectioners Association did give him legitimate credit on one thing, which is making of candy canes and putting them on Christmas trees,” Leisy said.
Main Street Wooster is honoring Imgard and his candy cane claim to fame this year through a candy cane-adorned ornament available for purchase at select downtown shops.
