Centre County plants sapling from a Liberty Tree ahead of America’s 250th birthday

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Centre County plants sapling from a Liberty Tree ahead of America’s 250th birthday

As part of a statewide project ahead of America’s 250th birthday next year, a sapling descended from a historic “

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” — a meeting place for American revolutionaries — was planted Saturday on the grounds of Centre Furnace Mansion during a formal ceremony.

The tulip poplar will eventually grow to more than 70 feet tall, with leaves that turn a vibrant golden-yellow in the fall. But, for now, organizers hope guests visit the waist-high sapling in the State College area for the history it represents and the principles it embodies.

“The planting of the Liberty Tree is not just a celebration,” Centre County Historical Society executive director Mary Sorensen said, reading a statement from the Bellefonte chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. “It is a profound reminder of our nation’s revolutionary beginnings from 250 years ago … and serves as a testament to the enduring legacy of those who fought for our freedoms.”

Before the United States was united, back in the 1760s when the country was still an English colony, American patriots like the Sons of Liberty met beneath a large elm along a main road in Boston. It was there, at this “Liberty Tree,” the first major act of defiance against the British government took hold, when colonists opposed the Stamp Act by

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A sapling taken from the clone of a historic Liberty Tree, where American revolutionaries once met, was planted Saturday afternoon on the grounds of Centre Furnace Mansion in State College ahead of America’s 250th birthday next year. A similar sapling will be planted in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

The idea of a Liberty Tree, where the common man could meet to rally or discuss resistance, quickly spread to other areas — such as Annapolis, Maryland; Newport, Rhode Island; and Charleston, South Carolina. They became a symbol of the American Revolution, with Boston’s iconic tree appearing in

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One historian, John Higham, even later said the Liberty Tree should replace Uncle Sam as “

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.” And local speakers on Saturday afternoon alluded to that importance in front of about three dozen attendees.

“What better way to honor the Revolutionary principles upon which our nation was established than by planting these living, tangible connections to our country’s roots?” asked John Segursky, a local leader with the Pennsylvania Freemasons.

To celebrate America’s upcoming 250th birthday, two main organizations — the Pennsylvania Freemasons and America250PA, the commonwealth’s official commission for America’s 250th birthday — partnered to plant a Liberty Tree of sorts in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. Some neighboring counties have already

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: Blair County’s Liberty Tree was planted at Altoona’s Fort Roberdeau, and Clinton County’s is located at Montoursville’s Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy.

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A sapling taken from the clone of a historic Liberty Tree, where American revolutionaries once met, was planted Saturday afternoon on the grounds of Centre Furnace Mansion in State College ahead of America’s 250th birthday next year. Among those posing, from left to right, include Mary Sorensen, executive director of the Centre County Historical Society; John Segursky, district deputy grand master of the 21st Masonic District; Barbara Hughes, regent for the Bellefonte chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution; Centre County Commissioner Mark Higgins; Christian Cassidy-Amstutz, America250PA’s Strategic Initiatives & Grants Manager; and Edward Stoddard, communications director for the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau.

Origins of Centre County’s tree

Boston’s famed Liberty Tree was destroyed by British forces in 1775 and turned into firewood. Charleston’s was burned and destroyed five years later. Both were targeted because of their symbolic importance.

But one of the

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in Annapolis, Maryland — also used in 1765 — was spared because the British never occupied the city. That 124-foot-long tulip poplar, planted around the same year (

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) William Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre opened, was the last surviving colonial Liberty Tree until 1999, when it

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from Hurricane Floyd.

Centre County’s sapling can trace its literal roots to that specific Liberty Tree.

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A sapling taken from the clone of a historic Liberty Tree, where American revolutionaries once met, was planted Saturday afternoon on the grounds of Centre Furnace Mansion in State College ahead of America’s 250th birthday next year. A similar sapling will be planted in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

That tree in Annapolis grew on what is today the campus of St. John’s College. Even a century ago, college officials there recognized the tree’s importance. They created a clone of the tree in 1889 by planting a scion, or branch, grafted onto a young root system — and America250PA organizers believed Centre County’s sapling was

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, which still stands on campus and shares identical DNA with the original.

Annapolis’ Liberty Tree does not boast the acclaim of Boston’s, but it still shares a rich history. Two signers of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Chase and William Paca, both held meetings beneath the tree. Marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer who volunteered for George Washington’s Continental Army, spoke there in 1824. And U.S. President Calvin Coolidge delivered remarks there in 1928.

Centre County’s Liberty Tree sapling is appropriately placed just outside the shadow of the property’s “Constitution Tree,” a large Sycamore certified to have lived there at the time of the signing of the Constitution. It’s also about a football field away from the historical marker commemorating the

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, within walking distance of the intersection at Porter Road and East College Avenue.

“I couldn’t think of any better grounds within the county that is a central, pivotal location to recognize our ties to the history of the United States,” said Edward Stoddard, the county adviser to America250PA and the communications director for Happy Valley Adventure Bureau. “This is the right spot.”

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/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

A sapling taken from the clone of a historic Liberty Tree, where American revolutionaries once met, was planted Saturday afternoon on the grounds of Centre Furnace Mansion in State College ahead of America’s 250th birthday next year. A similar sapling will be planted in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, a statewide project done by America250PA and the Pennsylvania Masons, in addition to other local organizations.

Looking ahead

More is planned locally — and statewide — for America’s 250th birthday, or semiquincentennial. And more plans will be revealed as that birthday creeps closer.

One signature statewide project that has already been revealed, besides the planting of Liberty Trees, involves replicas of the Liberty Bell. According to organizers at America250PA, the goal is to place a fiberglass Liberty Bell replica that’s painted by local artists in each of the state’s 67 counties. Some counties will have more than one; Centre County is expected to have several.

Each bell will be 3 feet-by-3 feet, and the initiative is called “

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.” Artists will be paid a $1,250 honorarium, and all bells are required to be in place by the end of this year.

Based on information shared by Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, more than 20 county stakeholders — from the American Philatelic Society to the Philipsburg Heritage Society — are also partnering to collaborate on a theme of “Then & Now” to celebrate America’s 250th. The aim is to show how Centre County has contributed to the nation’s growth from 1776 until today.

That means tours, exhibitions and workshops, in addition to other key focus areas that include community engagement and tourism development.

For more information on how Pennsylvania plans to celebrate the semiquincentennial, go to

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