Old Washington Historic State Park Moon Tree

Washington, Arkansas

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) planted 15 March 1976 at Old Washington Historic State Park in Washington, Arkansas, located behind the 1836 courthouse and Confederate Capitol of Arkansas. Two pictures and stories on the planting are in the clippings below, the first from the March 16, 1976, Hope, Arkansas, Star, and the second from the March 15, 1976, Journal. Pictures from the planting ceremony are below. They are from photographs belonging to Grace Lane McDonald Cecil, the woman giving the speech and standing to the right in the second set of images below. The ceremony featured speeches and the planting, see the pages from the program below. The original plaque in the pictures reads:

MOON TREE
Loblolly Pine - Pinus taeda

This tree was grown from a seed
that journeyed to the Moon and back
aboard Apollo 14 in 1972
Planted here on Arbor Day, March 15
Bicentennial Year 1976

Sponsored by
Arkansas Forestry Commission
Arkansas Arbor Day Committee

Speeches given at the Moon Tree planting ceremony on March 15, 1976. The first picture shows Buster Denton, Arkansas Forestry Commission (retired),
the second shows Old Washington Historic State Park Superintendent Danny Rankin. Seated in both pictures (l to r) are Mrs. Charles Dillard, Mrs. Grace
Cecil, Rev. Bill Martin, and J. Hugh Lookadoo.

Grace Cecil gives a speech and Danny Rankin presents the loblolly pine seedling to Mrs. Charles Dillard as Grace Cecil watches.

Danny Rankin prepares the hole and lowers the seedling in, with Grace Cecil, Mrs. Charles Dillard, and Rev. Bill Martin.

Grace Cecil shovels dirt onto the seedling, watched by cub scouts, Buster Denton, Mrs. Charles Dillard, and Danny Rankin; and a group
(Mrs. Charles Dillard, Buster Denton, Rev. Bill Martin, J. Hugh Lookadoo, and Mrs. Grace Cecil, with Danny Rankin in front) poses
behind the tree and sign.

Tour guide staff (L-R): Nancy Booker, Ruth Bumpers, unidentified, and an unidentified guest joins the group from the picture above.

It is now listed on a sign affixed to the tree (below) as a 'Moon Pine Tree', Arkansas Famous and Historical Tree Program Registered Tree #0005, August 6, 1997. The sign was replaced at some point with a slightly different one (above), describing the tree as "Apollo 14 Mission Moon Pine at Washington". The photographs at the top of the page were taken in 2013, the bottom photographs circa 2005.

The seeds for the loblolly pines were collected in Livingston Parish, Lousiana, and New Kent County, Virginia. It is not known which of these locales was the source for this particular tree.

Tree located at 33° 46.547' N, 93° 40.833' W. The address is 409 Franklin Street, Washington, Arkansas.

Program from the tree planting ceremony.

Ceremony photographs courtesy of Elizabeth Culnan Frazier and Grace Cecil.
Information on the ceremony and program courtesy Josh Williams.
Newspaper clippings credit Hope, Arkansas Star and the Journal, courtesy Josh Williams.
Top photographs courtesy of T. Byron Miller.
Bottom photographs courtesy of Dallas and JoAnn Coonrod - geocachers 'Kunta and Ono'.

Moon Tree (1976) - Clio
Old Washington Historic State Park
Historic Washington State Park Moon Tree - Waymarking Geocache Site

History of the Loblolly Pine Moon Trees
Moon Tree Home Page

NASA Official: Dave Williams, david.r.williams@nasa.gov
Last Updated: 15 July 2024, DRW