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All the United States Massachusetts Sunderland The Buttonball Tree

The Buttonball Tree

This giant Massachusetts sycamore is said to hold the dubious distinction of being the "widest tree East of the Mississippi!"

Sunderland, Massachusetts

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mayormammoth
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The Buttonball Tree   walshTD on Flickr
The Buttonball Tree   Tman21901 on Wikipedia
The Buttonball Tree   Msact on Wikipedia
The Buttonball Tree   Tman21901 on Wikipedia
Enormous and beautiful!   irisshscott / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Bigger is better, as the the fans of Sunderland's enormous Buttonball Tree would have you believe. This impressive specimen of flora, an American sycamore, towers above the small Massachusetts village of Sunderland at over 113 feet tall, with a spread of 140 feet, and a hefty girth of 24 feet and 7 inches—and it's still growing.

Its age is just as remarkable as its size. The Buttonball Tree was around before not just your mother, not just your grandmother, not even just your great-grandmother, but before your great-great-great-great-great-grandmother. A plaque in front of the tree recognizes it for "having lived here at the time of the signing of our Constitution," placing its birthday/germination-day at least before 1787. Many think that it's closer to 350 years old, and some estimate closer to 400, but either way, it's certainly a relic of Sunderland's old forests.

The term "buttonball" has often been used to describe Sycamore trees in general, but the size, age, and more than anything else, its fan base have led to this tree pretty much owning the name. So, if size truly matters to you—locals claim the Buttonball Tree is the biggest tree east of the Mississippi—pay a visit to the roadside sycamore. Just don't try to climb it; that would be a long fall back down.

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Know Before You Go

The tree is to the left side of the road (going north) and is marked by a plaque. The best parking is south down Main Street off of Warner Drive.

Community Contributors

Added By

mayormammoth

Edited By

julnyes, Martin, EricGrundhauser, irisshscott

  • julnyes
  • Martin
  • EricGrundhauser
  • irisshscott

Published

March 26, 2015

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Sources
  • http://www.memorialhall.mass.edu/collection/itempage.jsp?itemid=15760
  • http://www.hawaiilibrary.net/article/whebn0024680710/buttonball%20tree
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buttonball_Tree
The Buttonball Tree
North Main Street
Sunderland, Massachusetts, 01375
United States
42.468842, -72.578372
Get Directions

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Photo of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

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Explore the Destination Guide

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United States

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