The Cherry Tree Monument

The Cherry Tree Monument. . Historical importance began with the Indians as a way-station, known as Canoe Place, where water transportation ended and a woodland trail led westward to the Alleghenies. This event probably brought the first white man, a Frenchman, to this area. , The French claimed the inland territory by friendly possession and the English controlled the coastal territory by conquest. , The land, granted to William Penn and marked by the Purchase of 1768, was marked by a large wild black cherry tree. It was the corner boundary for three counties: Cambria, Clearfield, and Indiana. , In 1891, Vincent Tonkin began working on a monument honoring the purchase Penn had made from the Indians. The monument was approved in 1893. Robert Tonkin, J.R. Caldwell, and Harry Byers aided chief surveyor Harry Scanlin in finding the true location of the cherry tree. , The monument was designed by E.R. Carr and Company of Quincy, Massachusetts. John Davis and Albert Daugherty of Cherry Tree were chosen to build the sandstone foundation. , The Monument was unveiled on November 5, 1894. Porter Kinport was Master of Ceremonies for the occasion, which included the presence of Governor James A. Beaver. The monument was uncovered by Maxie Elizabeth Tonkin. , The Cherry Tree Civic Club, formed in 1914 by Mrs. Thomas Parry, is in charge of maintaining the monument grounds.