Arizona has the Grand Canyon, Colorado the Rockies, California boasts the Golden Gate Bridge but, Indiana has Greensburg?!? "What's at Greensburg?" I hear you ask excitedly. Nothing less than the 11 million, one hundred and thirty-ninth Wonder of the World.This bizarre and surreal phenomenon actually made "Ripley's Believe it or not" at one point. Anyway, the handsome tree to the right is a fifteen foot, 5 inch diameter, large toothed Aspen coexisting with a variety of other foliage and assorted weeds, all rooted in this tired looking monument. The monument itself was built in 1874 and that, you might think, is that.
But wait, there's more - an entire 110 feet more in fact. The monument is atop the Decatur County Court House and, at various times, an entire grove of as many as five aerial trees have graced the building since the first one was spied in the late 1870's.Famed, locally at least, as Tree City or Tree County, many local businesses include references to this grotesque outgrowth in their business names so, presumably, weeding the Court House roof could dash the hopes of these enterprises and possibly set off a countywide recession. The city fathers now wisely spend taxpayer money maintaining this lopsided monstrosity in their quest to keep the wheels of commerce turning. My advice? Stay clear of the Court house on windy days! (Click on picture to enlarge.)
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