Examine individual changes

'[[File:The Senator Tree Longwood Florida.JPG|thumb|upright|alt=Adult male standing about fifteen feet in front of a 125-foot tree|The Senator in 2011]][[File:Perhaps the last photo of the pond cypress known as The Senator (2012).jpg|thumb|upright|The Senator in 2012]] '''The Senator''' was the biggest and [[List of oldest trees|oldest]] [[Taxodium distichum|bald cypress]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/core/fileparse.php/3306/urlt/big-20tree-20brochure.pdf |title=Seminole County Big Tree Park |accessdate=November 22, 2015}}</ref> tree in the world, located in Big Tree Park, [[Longwood, Florida]]. At the time of its demise, it was {{convert|125|ft}} tall, with a trunk diameter of {{convert|17.5|ft}}. The tree was thought to have been destroyed by a fire from a lightning strike,<ref name="dailymail">{{cite news | url = http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087394/Fire-destroys-3-500-year-old-cypress-tree-The-Senator-Florida.html | title = Fire destroys 3,500-year-old cypress tree 'The Senator' in Florida | publisher = Daily Mail Online | accessdate = 2012-01-17 | location=London | date=2012-01-16}}</ref> but it was later discovered that the fire was started by an arsonist.<ref name=arrest>{{cite news|title=The Senator: Sara Barnes Charged With Setting Fire That Destroyed 3,500-Year-Old Florida Cypress Tree|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/28/the-senator-burns-fire-sara-barnes-arrested_n_1308513.html|date=2012-03-04|accessdate=2012-09-01|work=Huffington Post|first=Janie|last=Campbell}}</ref> ==History== [[File:Senator Tree, looking upward.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Looking up from the base of The Senator, 1967]] The [[Seminole]]s and other Native American Indians who lived throughout Central Florida used this tree as a landmark. In the late 19th century, the tree attracted visitors even though much of the surrounding land was [[swamp]]; reaching the tree was done by leaping from log to log. A walkway was later constructed by the [[Works Progress Administration]]. In 1925, a [[hurricane]] destroyed the top of the tree, reducing its original height of {{convert|165|ft}} to a height of {{convert|118|ft}}. The Senator was named for [[Florida Senate|Florida State Senator]] Moses Overstreet, who donated the tree and surrounding land to [[Seminole County, Florida|Seminole County]] for a park in 1927. In 1929, former US President [[Calvin Coolidge]] reportedly visited The Senator and dedicated the site with a commemorative bronze plaque. A photo that was published of Coolidge and his wife near the tree was reported by the ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'' to have been doctored.<ref>[http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-senator_420120116042039,0,7477910.photo "The Senator cypress tree at Big Tree Park"], OrlandoSentinel.com</ref> The plaque and portions of an iron fence were stolen by vandals in 1945 and never recovered.<ref name= "floridata">{{cite web | url = http://www.floridata.com/tracks/thesenator/thesenator.cfm | title = The Senator - Florida's Big Tree | publisher = Floridata | accessdate = 2012-01-16}}</ref> ===Fire and collapse=== On January 16, 2012, a fire was reported at the top of the Senator tree, which burned from the inside out, "like a chimney."<ref name="not arson">{{cite web | last=Pavuk | first=Amy | title=Investigator: Fire that destroyed 'The Senator' was not arson | url= http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/os-senator-cypress-tree-fire-20120116,0,6171920.story | work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] | publisher=[[Tribune Company]] | date=2012-01-16 | accessdate=2012-01-16}}</ref> Firefighters arrived to try to extinguish the blaze, but the tree collapsed. The charred remains of the tree now stand only {{convert|20|to|25|ft}} tall.<ref name="not arson" /> On February 28, 2012, The Florida Division of Forestry said they arrested Sara Barnes, age 26, in relation to the fire of The Senator. Barnes said she was a drug abuser who regularly went to the tree site when the park was closed to consume illegal drugs. On the night of January 16, 2012, Barnes lit a fire with debris so that she could see the drugs she was going to use, but the fire got out of control. Officials said that they found images of the fire being started on Barnes' laptop and on her cellphone. When an arrest warrant was served at her home she was also charged with possession of methamphetamine.<ref name=arrest /> In 2014, Barnes was sentenced to 30 months in prison, with the sentence suspended if she could successfully complete five years of probation. However, in October 2015, Barnes was arrested again on other charges, violating her probation. Jailed in December 2015, she went to trial in March 2016. On March 31, 2016, Barnes was found guilty, her probation was rescinded and she was ordered jailed for 30 months, with approximately 10 months credit for time previously served.<ref>http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-tree-burner-sara-barnes-pleads-guilty-20160331-story.html</ref> ===Post-fire=== Some people believe that the tree is still alive today. They have spotted [[sapling]]s at the base of the big tree. Officials also said that the tree was [[cloned]] at one point, and they are searching to bring the clones back.<ref name=arrest /> In October 2013, Seminole County officials allowed a small, select group of artists and woodworkers to create works of art for the county from the charred remains of the Senator.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.seminolevoice.com/news/2013/oct/17/seminole-countys-senator-tree-alive-again-art/ |title=Seminole County's 'The Senator' tree lives on in art |publisher=SeminoleVoice.com |date= 2013-10-17 |accessdate=2014-06-05}}</ref> Artisans have created a variety of items, including vases, pens, ornate flutes, and sculptures. Some of the items have been made available for sale at art shows, and officials are working toward making both a permanent and traveling exhibit with some of the artifacts. On March 2, 2014, Big Tree Park was re-opened to the public after being closed for almost a year after the fire that destroyed The Senator. A memorial was constructed which includes signage along the newly renovated boardwalk, a playground piece that mimics a bald cypress tree stump and a clone of The Senator that was planted near the playground. The name for the clone is "The Phoenix".<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/parksrec/PassiveParksandBoatRamps/BigTreePark.aspx |title= Big Tree Park |publisher= SeminoleCountyFL.gov |date= |accessdate= 2014-06-05}}</ref> A clone of the Senator was located, and currently is growing at the entrance to Big Tree Park{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}. ===Statistics=== As of 1993, the Senator was estimated to be 3,500 years old, making it the 5th oldest tree in the world.<ref name="floridata" /> The tree's volume had previously been estimated at {{convert|4300|cuft|m3}}, but a 2006 survey by Will Blozan of the Native Tree Society has measured the volume at well over {{convert|5100|cuft|m3}}, making The Senator not only the largest Bald Cypress in the United States, but also the largest tree of any species east of the Mississippi River.<ref name=NativeTree>{{cite web | url = http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldtrips/florida/senator/senator_cypress.htm | title = The Senator Cypress is re-elected to top position in Eastern Forests | publisher = Eastern Native Tree Society | date = 2006-05-08 | accessdate = 2012-01-16}}</ref> ==Lady Liberty Tree== {{main|Lady Liberty (tree)}} [[File:Longwood Senator Park Lady01.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Lady Liberty in 2007.]] Located {{convert|40|ft}} from where The Senator stood is another old cypress in the same Big Tree Park named [[Lady Liberty (tree)|Lady Liberty]] that was named companion tree to The Senator. It is {{convert|89|ft}} high {{convert|10|ft}} in diameter, and is estimated to be 2000 years old; another one of the oldest trees in the world.<ref name="floridata" /> ==See also== *[[List of oldest trees]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commons|Senator (tree)}} * [http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/parksrec/PassiveParksandBoatRamps/BigTreePark.aspx Big Tree Park in Longwood, FL] * [http://www.floridata.com/tracks/thesenator/thesenator.cfm The Senator - Florida's Big Tree] * [http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldtrips/florida/senator/senator_cypress.htm Study Conducted by The Native Tree Society] {{coord|28|43|11.2|N|81|19|52.65|W|type:airport|display=title}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Senator (Tree)}} [[Category:Individual conifers]] [[Category:Taxodium]] [[Category:Works Progress Administration in Florida]] [[Category:2010s individual tree deaths]] [[Category:Individual trees in Florida]]'