200-Year-Old Sycamore Tree Removed From Lake Afton

YARDLEY, PA —On Thursday, Michelle Sharer watched 200 years leave her property off Lake Afton.

Tally that with the 300-year-old tree that was removed after a hurricane in 2019, and the president of the Friends of Lake Afton has seen 500 years of history vanish before her eyes.

Sharer's home sits on the other side of Lake Afton, directly opposite the library where the Yardley Historical Association makes its home.

On Thursday, Sharer watched another beloved sycamore that had fallen into the lake —the crown jewel of the borough —get removed.

The tree had snapped and crashed into the large pond following a storm that wreaked havoc late last month.

While the tree took up residence in Lake Afton for the past two weeks, it also became a sanctuary for a group of turtles who would soak up the sun by hanging out on the tree limbs and branches.

Anthony Primola and his crew with Alpine Tree Specialists spent eight hours removing the tree, Sharer said, adding that sycamore trees are "very heavy."

The crew used boats to cut a section of the tree and then a 250-ton crane to hook it and move sections to the church parking lot nearby where it was chopped up.

Sharer said the cost for removal is probably around $16,000.

But don't pity the poor turtles, she said.

Sharer said she hopes to find a Boy Scout group who can maybe create a "turtle island" for the regulars at the lake to continue to bask in the glow.

(Photo Courtesy of Nick Primola)