Anakeesta is honored and celebrating the news after one of Gatlinburg’s most popular trees was added to an official state registry this month, just in time for Arbor Day.
One of Gatlinburg’s most famous trees has been designated historic by the state of Tennessee.
Known by longtime City of Gatlinburg locals as “the big tree,” the tulip poplar is located between Pi Beta Phi and Anakeesta property. On April 13, city officials and Pi Beta Phi staffers held a ceremony to designate the tree as a Historic Tree. It was added to the Tennessee Registry of Landmark, History and Heritage Trees as an Historic Tree of Tennessee. According to the Mountain Press, the registry is overseen by the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council (TUFC). The organization is a nonprofit “committed to the development, management and promotion of urban forestry throughout the Great State of Tennessee.”
“Anakeesta is honored to be the home to the city’s newly-designated Historic Tree of Tennessee, the Pi Beta Phi Tulip Poplar of Gatlinburg,” said Michele Canney, vice president of marketing for Anakeesta. “We recognize the importance of this tree to the community and are so pleased to see it recognized by the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council.”
Being near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most popular park in the United States and one of the most popular parks in the world, Anakeesta is committed to reforestation efforts in the Great Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg areas. As of 2021, Anakeesta has planted more than 3,000 trees on the property and thousands of plants, and we have full-time arborists on staff.
Other historic trees in East Tennessee include the Morgan Tree at the University of Tennessee, a large white oak which is more than 100 years old. You can view a full list of historic and legacy trees in the state of Tennessee here.
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