An elderly Maple tree in front of the Jackson County Courthouse in Scottsboro, AL. is marked off from foot traffic after arborists have deemed it unsafe and dying.NORWAY MAPLEAccording to the National Park Service, John Bartram of Philadelphia first introduced Norway maple from England to the U.S. in 1756 and soon began offering it for sale.It was planted on farms and in towns for its shade, hardiness and adaptability to adverse conditions. Norway maples have been reported to be invasive throughout the northeastern U.S. from Maine to Wisconsin, south to Tennessee and Virginia and also in the Pacific Northwest.Over time, as reforestation occurred across the Northeast, Norway maple joined native tree species as a component of eastern forest ecosystems. It also escaped from town plantings.Once established, the Norway maple forms single-species stands of maples that create a canopy of dense shade that can prevent other types of vegetation, including other trees, from growing beneath it.
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. -- While the official verdict isn't in, the end seems inevitable for the Jackson County Courthouse's last maple tree.
The time-twisted, massive tree -- an 80- to 100-year-old Norway maple -- is the last of four or five maple trees that have stood on the courthouse square over the last century. In the past few years it has become diseased and weakened to the point it poses a danger to anyone walking or driving under its broad boughs.
County Commission Chairman Matthew Hodges says five experts have looked the old tree over and come to the same conclusion.
It is dying.
"It's a beautiful tree if you look at it from the right angle, but if you really take a look at it you can see the issues," Hodges said.
Dean Guthrie, owner of the All-Sports sporting goods store on the courthouse square since 1972, says he hasn't really paid much attention to the old maple across the square but is aware of talk about cutting it down.
He's not surprised if it's posing a danger on the busy town square.
"If it's sick, it probably has to be removed before it falls on somebody and hurts them or does damage to somebody's property," Guthrie said.
John and Evie Campbell have lived in Jackson County all their six decades of marriage while the maple stood proudly on the north side of the courthouse building that harks back to 1912 when it was rebuilt after a fire.
The maple has lived through the 1954 and 1968 expansions of the courthouse building, and a more recent sidewalk project that surrounded it with a brick-and-concrete path. Birds and squirrels thrive alongside Scottsboro's people as they shelter in the shade of the old maple and its fellow dogwoods, willow oaks and pecan trees, some of them -- people and trees -- not youngsters themselves.
"It's like some of the human beings," John Campbell reflected. "When you've got to go, you've got to go."
Hodges said an arborist hired to assess the tree is due to make a report this week.
The yellowed leaves and rotting main branches foretell its likely demise. Yellow tape warns people away and forces physically challenged visitors to circle around to the entrance ramp to the front door.
"A lot of folks understand where we are on it," Hodges said Tuesday. "We're still waiting on the report."
Hodges said officials are learning what to do to take the best care of the remaining trees.
"We want to keep the atmosphere the same and take care of the other trees," he said.
If the verdict is what he expects, Hodges said the tree probably will be removed in the next few weeks sometime after it bids its final farewell with its fall foliage.
Some of the tree trunk's core wood will be used for lumber to create something more lasting than memories for future generations, he said.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.