White House Christmas tree is from a farm in Shepherdstown

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. (WDVM) — Earlier this week the White House displayed its annual Christmas tree in the Blue Room, a holiday tradition. And there’s a special West Virginia connection.

West Virginians can take pride that the tree is from the Mountain State, from Shepherdstown in the eastern panhandle, a short 90-minute drive from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. First Lady Melania Trump tweeted that she would greet the arrival of the tree at the north portico of the White House, welcoming the eighteen-and-a-half foot Fraser fir from the Dan and Bryan Tree Farm.

A local merchant can attest to the quality of the tree. “Fraser fir, in our opinion, is one of the best trees you can get. They don’t drop their needles that quickly. And they last through the season,” says Michelle Morrison with the Potomac Farms Nursery here.

And talk about Mountain State pride that it’s a West Virginia tree! For eastern panhandle native Heather Garcia, why not chose from the best? And we are neighbors to the first family after all.

“I think it’s a great place for them to come to get the tree. I mean, we are local, within an hour-and-a-half from Washington, D.C.,” she adds, “we’ve got wonderful people here,” says Garcia.

Delivery of the tree has been a White House tradition since 1966. And Dan and Bryan’s Tree Farm in Shepherdstown has won awards in state competitions — Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, of course, for the quality of their holiday product.

Michelle Morrison from Potomac Farms Nursery stated, “I’m very glad. We feel very honored here that they chose the tree from our area.”

So, if you’re looking for an 18-and-a half-foot Fraser fir just like the First Family has, Shepherdstown, West Virginia is the place to come.

This is the fourth time the Dan and Bryan Tree Farm has provided the White House Christmas tree.