History Branches Out - Unionville, MO - Oddball Museums on Waymarking.com

County of museum: Putnam County
Location of museum: 17th St. & Main St. (US 136), courthouse lawn, Unionville
Museum run by: Putnam County Historical Society

Museum sign reads:

HISTORIC TREES
A LIVING HERITAGE
MUSEUM
Established 1989
by
PUTNAM COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TREES FURNISHED
by
Stan Lemaster    Theodore Klein

Historic Marker:

HISTORY BRANCHES OUT Established in 1989, the Living Heritage Museum features trees rooted in the past and connected to famous people of events.
The original ten trees were furnised by Stan LeMaster, an engineer at General Electric in Louisvuille, KY., and Theodore Klein, a nursery man from Crestwood, KY. LeMaster started growing trees from seeds, saplings or cuttings gathered from their famous ancestors as a backyard hobby in 1966 and was later joined by Klein, whose hobby was photographing historic trees.
Trees traceable to over 50 historic figures or events have been propagated and made available to communities throughout the world.
The Putnam County Historical Society is grateful to the following whose generous donations helped make this museum possible.
The Putnam County Garden Club
Putnam-Sullivan Legal Secretaries
The Family of Dr. L.W. McDonald
The Family of Mr & Mrs Loran Rennells
Rick, Katy, Bess & Annie Ingersoll
Mr & Mrs John W. Gillum
Comstock Funeral Home

A sample of the tress and their history:
1.

BASKING RIDGE OAK
(Zuercus alba) The basking [sic] Ridge Oak stands in the churchyard of the Presbyterian Church in the center of Basking Ridge New Jersey which was settled in 1720. The tree is associated with the stirring events of the American Revolution. In 1776 General Charles Lee (George Washington's Chief-of-Staff) was captured near the tree by British Troops. Legend has it that the horses of a Tory raiding party were tied to the tree during a raid in 1781.

2.

CLARK COFFEETREE
(Gymnocladus dioicus) George Rogers Clark (1752-1818) was an American frontiersman and Revolutionary War leader. One of his ventures was to try to make "coffee" from the seeds of this tree - - making seeds available to Thjomas Jefferson and othr contemporaries. Because the beverage had a distinct "bitter taste", the project failed. The parent tree is located at Clark's final home (Locust Grove) in Louisville, Kentucky

3.

LONGFELLOW CHESTNUT(Aesculus octandra)
The other tree grew in Cambridge, Massachusetts and
according to tradition, inspired Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow (1807-1882) to write the immortal poem
"The Village Blacksmith"
UNDER THE SPEADING CHUSTNUT-TREE THE
VILLAGE SMITHY (OR SMITH HE) STANDS;
THE SMITH, A MIGHTY MAN IS HE,
WITH LARGE AND SINEWY HANDS;
AND THE MUSCLES OF HIS BRAWNY ARMS
ARE STRONG AS IRON BANDS

4. Moon Sycamore

"The Unionville, Missouri second generation Moon sycamore (platanus occidentalis) was planted in November 1988 by the Putnam County Historical Society and other citizens of Putnam County. The tree was donated by Stan Lemaster and Theodore Klein as part of the Historic Tree Museum on the courthouse lawn. Shown in the image above standing next to the tree is Tom Keedy who helped establish the Museum. (Although the plaque says the sycamore was planted from the seeds carried to the Moon it is believed this is actually a second generation tree.) The sign below gives information about the Museum." ~ NASA

Days and Hours of Operation: any time, courthouse lawn. If you visit at 2am the police might ask what you are doing, but visit anytime. Address: 1601 Main Street courthouse lawn Unionville, MO USA 63565 Related Website: [Web Link] Price of Admission: 0.00 (listed in local currency) What is in the collection: Trees, and trees, and a couple of stories, but mostly trees.

Visit Instructions:
Post your own original photo as proof of your visit.
Tell us about your visit. What item in the museum did you like the best? What did you like the least? Would you recommend others visit the museum?

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