Maryland’s Liberty Tree

Maryland’s Liberty Tree. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. With roots planted deep in the soil providing stability and a crown overhead providing shelter and safety, it is easy to see how a tree could be a meaningful symbol for the Sons of Liberty in America's earliest days. Each of the original 13 colonies had “Liberty Trees” where colonists gathered to talk about unfair taxation and oppressive British policies. The Sons of Liberty was a secret organization and from their meetings and discussions the seeds for the American Revolution were planted. , Maryland’s Liberty Tree, a Tulip Poplar, was located in Annapolis, Maryland on the campus of St. John's College. It was the final surviving Liberty Tree of the original 13 and remained standing until it was damaged and removed following Hurricane Floyd in 1999. , Colonel Thomas Cresap of Oldtown was a vocal and visible organizer of the Sons of Liberty in western Maryland. Historians give Cresap much credit in helping defeat the 1765 Stamp Act in Maryland. It is fitting therefore that the current Maryland Liberty Tree, a direct descendant of the original, is planted near the site of Cresap's Fort in Oldtown, Maryland, overlooking the historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. , “Let the far and near all unite with a cheer, in defense of our Liberty Tree.” , Thomas Paine, 1775