Tree marking Underground Railroad cut down
Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2004
By: Associated Press

BROCKTON, Mass.- A 300-year-old sycamore that served as a marker on the Underground Railroad and a meeting place for abolitionists including Frederick Douglass has been cut down after city officials said it was too badly damaged to save.

The remains of "The Liberty Tree" were fed into a chipper Monday despite the efforts of residents who had tried to win National Historic Register status for the tree and build a park and museum around it.

"I am just so disappointed that this tree, an object that referenced, revered, and celebrated runaway slaves and freedom seekers, has to come to this ignoble end," said resident Dwight Miller. "It's a shame."

Brockton Mayor John Yunits said he had to put public safety ahead of sentiment.

A 2,000 pound branch crashed into an adjacent parking lot two weeks ago during a wind storm and three arborists had determined it was rotting from the inside.

It would have cost $500,000 to restore the tree, so officials chose to remove it. The city plans to build a small commemorative park in its place, Yunits said, and will try to help pay for it by auctioning off branches as artifacts.

Clones of the tree have been planted in other parts of the suburban Boston town, including at the Brockton Historical Society, Yunits said.

"The history is still there," he said.