BY DAN HILDEBRAN
General manager
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—The Keystone Heights Heritage Commission wants to designate a large oak tree behind City Hall with a historical marker.
A member of the public told the commission during its Nov. 21 meeting that a similar large oak in Thomasville, Georgia has become somewhat of a tourist attraction.
“They’ve got a camera across the street, and you text it, and it takes pictures of you in front of the tree and then sends it to your phone,” the citizen said.
The area around City Hall already has one tree recognized for its uniqueness.
An American Sycamore on library property, known as “The Moon Tree,” grew from seed that traveled on the Apollo 14 moon mission in February 1971. The seed was planted west of the library in 1984 and now has a stone at its base, recognizing its travels.
Christine Arnold told her colleagues on the commission that the age of the yet-to-be-recognized oak must be determined before it could be formally recognized.
“And…the only way to do it for sure is to bore into the tree…which has its dangers,” she added. “You could injure the tree.”
Arnold said a master gardener gave her the names of several arborists who might estimate the tree’s age without drilling into the hardwood.
Commission member Dierdre Murphy said a county official told her the specific wording the city council would have to approve for the tree to be formally designated as historical.
