RISON - In commemoration of America’s 250th birthday this year, a “Liberty Tree” is being planted at the Pioneer Village to commemorate the original Liberty Tree in Boston where colonists staged their first act of defiance against the British.Wayne Cash of the Cleveland County Historical Society said the society is donating the elm tree as part of regional effort by the Bayou Bartholomew Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and the Pine Bluff-John McAlmont Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) to plant five Liberty Trees throughout the region.Cash said the tree at the Pioneer Village is being planted in memory of country music legend Johnny Cash, who donated the proceeds from his March 1976 Bicentennial concert at the Rison High School football field to help establish the Pioneer Village.Cash said the Cash family in Cleveland County, including Johnny Cash, are descendants of John Cash, who fought in the American Revolution in Virginia.The Bayou Bartholomew SAR and Pine Bluff-John McAlmost DAR chapters will formally dedicate the tree in a ceremony at 1:30 Saturday, April 11, during the Pioneer Crafts Festival at the Pioneer Village.The original Liberty Tree was an elm that stood in Boston near Boston Common in the years before the American Revolution. In 1765, colonists in Boston staged the first act of defiance against the British government at the tree, and it became a rallying point for the growing resistance of British rule over the American colonies. The ground surrounding the tree became known as Liberty Hall.In 1775, the British cut down the tree due its association with the resistance. The tree is believed to have been there since 1646.As part of 250th celebration of the United States, the Arkansas Society of SAR and the Arkansas Society of DAR have organized a joint effort to dedicate Liberty Trees across the state in honor of the ideals that founded the re...
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