It looks like an ordinary tree because in many ways it is an ordinary tree. However, what a lot of people may not realize is that this tree was in outer space and went to the moon at one point in its life. The Holliston Moon Tree is an American Sycamore grown from seeds that accompanied the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.

To commemorate America’s bicentennial in 1976, states across the country were given two of these seeds. Massachusetts was the only state in New England to receive seeds, with one in Holliston and another in Pembroke. The tree in Pembroke died a little over a year after it was planted, but the tree in Holliston is alive and well.

During the planting ceremony, a stand-in tree was used and it was stolen six days later but recovered shortly after. The real one grew at the Weston Nurseries in neighboring Hopkinton for about six years and is currently located at the Holliston Police Department right across from the local historical society as it’s seen as the safest place to protect the tree from vandalism and theft. At one point there was a chain-link fence protecting it but now it’s open to the public. If you’re ever in the Holliston area and would like to take a look please feel free. Definitely a neat local attraction with an interesting backstory and it’s not every day you encounter a tree that was once in outer space and been to the moon.