This ‘Legacy’ Sugar Maple planted inside the Polk County Courthouse Square was transplanted 20 years ago. It is a “Tree of Strength” planted by the Foothills Association of Master Gardeners and the Thermal Belt Men’s Garden Club.

The tree is a living memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, DC and the rural hills of Pennsylvania.

N.C. State University created a registry of the hundreds of Trees of Strength planted across North Carolina. Our tree is included on the list. This particular maple was selected because the ‘Legacy’ variety is a more heat tolerant Sugar Maple. It was officially planted on October 11, 2002.