Liberty Tree To Be Dedicated In Caldwell, ‘Profound Local Significance,’ Borough Says

CALDWELL, NJ — In a joint effort to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. War of Independence, the Borough of Caldwell and the First Mountain Chapter of the New Jersey Society Sons of the American Revolution will host a dedication ceremony for the planting of an American Elm “Liberty Tree.”

The ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17 on the historic Caldwell Green next to the Carnegie Library (located at the southeast corner of Bloomfield and Roseland Avenues), directly across Roseland Avenue from the First Presbyterian Church in Caldwell.

The choice of location holds “profound” local and historical significance, borough officials said:

“The First Presbyterian Church's ‘Old Burying Ground’ serves as the final resting place for 24 veterans of the Essex County Militia from the Caldwell area who served during the Revolutionary War. To honor their service and sacrifice, the ceremony will include a reading of the names of these 24 patriots, weaving Caldwell’s ancestors into the living monument of the Liberty Tree.”

According to the borough website, the tradition of the Liberty Tree dates back to Boston in 1646, where an elm was planted that would grow to become a powerful rallying point for early colonial protests against British rule: “By March 1765, the tree witnessed the colonists' mounting outrage over the Stamp Act, which placed direct taxes on colonial documents. In early 1766, John Adams met with the Sons of Liberty beneath its branches, advocating for peaceful petitions to voice colonial grievances. Although the British Army cut down Boston’s original Liberty Tree in 1775, its legacy endured; after the British evacuated in 1776, a liberty pole was raised in its place, and the site remained a center for patriotic assemblies. The tree's enduring symbolism inspired other colonies to establish their own Liberty Trees as living emblems of resistance and self-governance.”

As part of the nationwide 250th anniversary celebrations, local Sons of the American Revolution chapters across the United States are sponsoring hundreds of new Liberty Tree plantings.

In New Jersey – frequently called the "crossroads of the American Revolution" – Caldwell's new American Elm will stand as the state's 11th Liberty Tree planting.

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