Beech the beech tree has such delicate bark, carvings, such as lovers' initials and other forms of graffiti, remain because the tree is unable to heal itself. Beech bark disease is a fungal infection that attacks the American beech through damage caused by scale insects. Infection can lead to the death of the tree. Beech was a late entrant to Great Britain after the last glaciation, and may have been restricted to basic soils in the south of England. Some suggest that it was introduced by Neolithic tribes who planted the trees for their edible nuts. The beech is classified as
Beech Settlement congregation in 1840. Mount Pleasant Beech Church, also known as the Old Beech Church, initially formed in 1832; it was the birthplace of the Indiana Conference of the AME. Church, which organized and held its first annual meeting at Blue River, Indiana, on October 2, 1840. The Mount Pleasant Beech Church meetinghouse has served as the site for the community's annual reunions since 1914. The arrival of railroads provided Beech settlers with wider access to markets beyond Ripley Township. The Knightstown and Shelbyville Railroad was completed in 1850. Local roads provided Beech Settlement with access to its depots at Knightstown,