Graeme Park Dedicates Historic Tree In Horsham

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — History was on display at Graeme Park during the dedication of a historic tree last week.

Horsham Township Manager Bill Walker, Township Councilman Eric Glemser, and other officials gathered for the dedication of a tree called Johnson’s Willow, Lichfield.

They were joined by members of The Johnson Society who traveled from Lichfield, England.

They all dedicated a tree that Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson loved so much that she wrote a poem about it in 1787, expressing hope that a cutting from the Willow would one day reach America to symbolize the spread of culture from Britain to the New World.

That hope was finally realized last week at Graeme Park238 years later by the planting of cuttings from the fifth-generation Johnson’s Willow tree.

The Johnson Society volunteered and took it upon themselves to seek authorization from the PA Historical and Museum Commission, to plant a branch from the Willow tree, send it to Washington, D.C., for quarantine, and then have it planted at Graeme Park.

Also attending the ceremony was Parks and Recreation Board member Ali Roy, State Rep. Melissa Cerrato, and Beth MacCausland with the Friends of Graeme Park.

They were joined by members of The Johnson Society: John Winterton, Stephen Brierly, and Marty and David Smith.

(Horsham Township)