The Chronicles Of Grant County

Visit Silver City
See The Moon

he Moon Tree is a beautiful tree located at Gough Park in Silver City. (The photograph was provided courtesy of the Town of Silver City, June 14, 2017.)

There could be a new tourist slogan for Grant County.
“Visit Silver City – See The Moon.”

Sounds kind of odd, doesn’t it?

But it’s true. In a way.

A tree growing in Silver City is a Moon Tree – a tree that grew from a seed that was on the Apollo 14 space mission to the Moon.

You can view this beautiful Sycamore tree – the Moon Tree – at Gough Park in Silver City.

According to a document from National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (hereafter “NASA”), there were a variety of tree seeds taken on the flight to the Moon on the Apollo 14 mission. Designed as part of a scientific research project by NASA, the seeds actually stayed on the spacecraft; the seeds did not actually touch the surface of the Moon. The NASA document indicated that the seeds for the Sycamore trees came from trees in Claiborne County, Mississippi.

This space trip was launched on January 31, 1971. The crew of the Apollo 14 mission included three astronauts: Edgar Mitchell, Lunar Module Pilot; Stuart Roosa, Command Module Pilot; and Alan Shepard, Jr., Commander. They returned to Earth on February 9, 1971. The distance traveled by the men during this mission, according to NASA, was 1,150,321 miles (and you thought your commute to and from work was lengthy).

After the return to Earth, the Sycamore tree seeds were initially brought to Houston, Texas. In a letter dated May 20, 1971, an official with the U S Department of Agriculture confirmed that the seedlings were growing in Texas, but recommended that the Sycamore tree seedlings be transferred to what is now known as the Southern Institute of Forest Genetics of the U S Forest Service Research and Development; this facility is located north of Gulfport, Mississippi.

There, the seeds continued their germination. The seedlings that grew were then sent to locales throughout the U S, according to the document from NASA.

Part of the goal appeared to be able to plant the Moon Trees during the Bicentennial of the United States of America in 1976.

NASA included note of a telegram (remember, this was 1976) from Gerald Ford, President of the United States, to Bicentennial Moon Tree planting ceremonies:

“I send warm greetings to those who attend this unique ceremony dedicating a small tree which was taken from Earth to the Moon on January 31, 1971 aboard Apollo 14. This tree which was carried by Astronauts Stuart Roosa, Alan Shepard, and Edgar Mitchell on their mission to the Moon, is a living symbol of our spectacular human and scientific achievements. It is a fitting tribute to our national space program which has brought out the best of American patriotism, dedication, and determination to succeed.”

“Planted in this community in our Bicentennial year,” the telegram from the President continued. “May this young tree renew our deep-rooted faith in the ideals of our Founding Fathers and may it inspire us to strive for the kind of growth that benefits our own citizens and all mankind.”

The document from NASA indicated that news reports stated that a Moon Tree was presented to the Town of Silver City in August of 1976. Due to its small size, the tree was sent to a nursery at Fort Bayard at that time.

At some point – no one is quite sure exactly when – the Moon Tree was returned to Silver City and planted in Gough Park.

Today, the beautiful Sycamore tree provides shade for local folks and visitors alike.

Perhaps the slogan will take off.

"Visit Silver City – See The Moon."

A winter scene of the Moon Tree located in Gough Park in Silver City. (The photograph was provided courtesy of the Town of Silver City, January 10, 2020.)

The crew of the Apollo 14 mission to the Moon included, from left, Stuart Roosa, Command Module Pilot; Alan Shepard, Jr., Commander; and Edgar Mitchell, Lunar Module Pilot. (The photograph was provided courtesy of NASA, December 3, 1970.)

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