ELDRED, NY — At the 9/11 gathering at Heroes Park in Eldred, Town of Highland, former supervisor Andy Boyar introduced the community to the Bartlett pear tree flourishing in the park. He then shared its story. 

The pear tree is a direct descendant of a tree that stood on the site of the original World Trade Center. The collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 nearly destroyed the original tree. Its roots were snapped and torn and its branches were broken and burnt, but with care it was nurtured back to full health. It has become known worldwide as the Survivor Tree. The flowering tree was replanted at the 9/11 Memorial plaza in 2010. 

In 2013, the NYC 9/11 Memorial, working with Bartlett tree experts and the NYC Board of Education, provided fruit harvested from the Survivor Tree to the students of John Bowne High School in Queens. Seedlings were grown from the fruit as part of a project to teach students about agriculture as well as the history of 9/11. Today these seedlings are being planted at permanent locations worldwide. 

The tree at Heroes Park is the product of one of those seedlings and was planted on site on Arbor Day 2024. At the time it was about six feet high, and has grown another foot through the summer after being lovingly watered and nurtured each day. This seedling, in its short life here, survived the onslaught of spongy moth caterpillars. 

Boyar encouraged visitors to Heroes Park to be inspired by the small, growing tree, and to reflect on its amazing journey from the World Trade Center in 2001 to its place in the little community of Highland. 

Said he, “It is a living symbol of the hope and resilience of the American people and our community’s commitment to always remember and honor the memory of the victims, heroes and survivors of September 11.”

Boyar chaired the 9/11 Memorial/Heroes Park project. He noted that it was designed and entirely funded by community members, 253 in number, and that no tax dollars were used. 

The park was dedicated on September 11, 2011.