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Morris County marked Constitution Day and the nation’s 250th anniversary by planting a Grove of 13 Trees at Central Park of Morris County in Parsippany, one tree for each of the original 13 colonies. The ceremony was held on September 17, the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, and the new grove sits near the park’s cross-country course, where anyone can walk out and see it.
The planting was organized by the Morris County Park Commission and the New Jersey Arborists Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture, with the trees donated and installed by Cerbo’s Hampton Nursery. Each species was chosen to represent one of the colonies while also standing up to northern New Jersey winters.
One tree for every original colony
The idea is simple, and it reads clearly once you are standing in front of it: 13 trees, 13 colonies, planted together as a living marker of where the country started. Several of the trees carry their own history. The Eastern Redbud planted for Delaware was propagated from a tree at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, where Washington noted the beauty of redbuds in his diary and planted them along the paths to his mansion. A Black Gum represents Virginia, and a Bald Cypress stands in for North Carolina.
“It’s fitting that we’re planting 13 trees on Constitution Day as we celebrate our nation’s Semiquincentennial,” Morris County Commissioner Director Stephen Shaw said at the ceremony. “These 13 trees, one for each original colony, remind us of where our nation began and of our responsibility to think beyond our own lifetimes.”
A time capsule for 2076
A time capsule was installed with the grove and is set to be opened in 2076, when the country marks its 300th anniversary. Inside is a letter to future generations that documents the health of New Jersey’s forests in 2026, how the trees were chosen, best practices in tree care, and a message for whoever reads it 50 years from now. Attendees at the ceremony also went home with Black Gum seedlings to plant in their own yards.
Why Central Park of Morris County
Central Park of Morris County was dedicated in 2008, covers 420 acres, and draws roughly 540,000 visitors a year, making it the third most visited park in the county system. It is also a fitting home for a tree project. In 2019 the Park Commission planted 1,471 native trees and shrubs along a tributary of the Whippany River here, and the park’s Cherry Tree Lane holds 38 heritage cherry trees grown from the trees Japan gave Washington, D.C., in 1912.
The Morris County Park Commission, which is marking its 70th anniversary this year, oversees more than 20,500 acres of parkland, 265 miles of trails, and 39 recreational facilities, making it the largest county park system in New Jersey.
How to see the Grove of 13
The grove is planted near the cross-country course at Central Park of Morris County in Parsippany, and the park is open to the public year round. It makes an easy add-on to a morning walk, and it will only get better as the trees fill in. If you are looking for more ways to get outside this fall, see our guides to the best hiking trails in Morris County and where to catch fall foliage.
Photo: Morris County Park Commission (morriscountynj.gov).
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