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All the United States Nevada Fallon The Shoe Tree of Middlegate

The Shoe Tree of Middlegate

A tree bears footwear on the loneliest road in America.

Fallon, Nevada

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Henry
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The new Shoe Trees as of April, 2024.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
  Aty Trocious / Atlas Obscura User
The new shoe tree(s) as of May 2014.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Shoe tree   kthresh / Atlas Obscura User
The Original Shoe Tree was cut down. This is the sister tree ready to take up its responsibility as the next Shoe Tree of Middlegate.  
Heading east toward Austin, the tree is on the left side of the road.  
  Louchebonvivant / Atlas Obscura User
The original shoe, circa 2010   LeeAnne Adams / CC BY 2.0
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About

Near the one-horse town of Fallon, Nevada, on US Highway 50, the so-called "Loneliest Road in America," set against a backdrop of barren, arid desert and mountains, grows a lone cottonwood tree strung with footwear. Trees decorated with objects--shoes, underwear, gum, or whatever else passersby have handy--are as wholesome as apple pie, and nearly as common in America. This shoe tree, however, has a particularly good story (and a lot of shoes) attached.

It happened like this: on a warm desert night, a newlywed couple camping beneath the large cottonwood got into an argument. The woman, a quick-tempered sort, threatened to walk away. "If you do," growled the man, "you'll have to walk barefoot." He then proceeded to throw her shoes up into the tree and drive off to a nearby bar, where the bartender, an upstanding citizen if ever there was one, convinced him to return to his wife. He drove back to the cottonwood tree—needless to say, his wife was still there—and the couple managed to reconcile and live happily ever after. They returned several years later with their first child to throw his shoes up into the tree under which they had fought and reunited. The rest, as they say, is history.

Witness the footwear of generations gone by. Participate. Drive barefoot the rest of the way. In the summer, the shoes might look from afar like some odd fruit hanging from the leafy boughs of the cottonwood. In winter, they make a particularly impressive spectacle, set against a background of desert frost.

Alas, the original Shoe Tree was cut down by vandals on the night of December 30-31, 2010. However, a couple of nearby trees have since taken up the slack, and are now festooned with shoes themselves.

Related Tags

Trees Shoes Monuments

Know Before You Go

Drive East out of Fallon, Nevada, along Highway 50. The tree is on the North side of the highway between Middlegate and Cold Springs.

The Shoe Tree is open for viewing alongside the highway 24/7. 

Community Contributors

Added By

Henry

Edited By

ashree106, felisarogers, slgwv, momandthree...

  • ashree106
  • felisarogers
  • slgwv
  • momandthree
  • Louchebonvivant
  • Aty Trocious
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • kthresh

Published

April 2, 2010

Updated

May 1, 2024

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  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/932
The Shoe Tree of Middlegate
41763 Lincoln Hwy
Fallon, Nevada, 89406
United States
39.294251, -117.987172
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Nearby Places

Middlegate Station

Fallon, Nevada

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Fallon

Fallon

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Fallon

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