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On the Fourth of July each year, all America celebrates its liberty from bondage with parades, barbecues, picnics, fireworks, flying flags and family gatherings.

And, perhaps, not with such fanfare, is a salute to America’s freedom, to an elm tree, a Liberty Tree, one of which stands proudly at Liberty Park in Brundidge.

The significance of the Liberty Tree is that patriots, including Paul Revere and John Hancock, called the Rebellious Nine, met under a 200-year-old elm in Boston in protest of the King of England’s Stamp Act.

There were nine colonies at the time and they were independent and didn’t believe that they should pay taxes to England.

But the people of England were being taxed heavily and the Stamp Act would provide a new source of revenue for England.

The colonists believed they should make their own laws and they were outraged by the Stamp Act.

The colonists revolted and won their independence but, before the British soldiers left Boston, they cut down the “Liberty” elm, which became America’s first symbol of freedom.

The goal of the “Liberty Tree” Society is to make known the spirit of the American colonists and the central role played by the “Liberty Tree” in America’s past, present and future. The initial goal of the Liberty Tree Society was to re-establish the American elm through these memorials,” The society’s goal was  to have 1,000 of these memorials all across the United States.

The memorials are made possible through donations. Each memorial requires a donation of $2,500 that pays for the elm, a plaque and the research into the re-establishment of the American elm.

“Our city  was one of a thousand sites throughout the United States to be invited to be a part of the Liberty Tree program. To be invited, someone or some organization had to donate $2,500 to the program,”  said Isabell Boyd, Brundidge mayor.  “Brundidge was, and continues to be honored, that someone thought enough of Brundidge, Alabama to make that donation.”

In accepting the invitation to participate in the Liberty Tree program, the city pledged to have an annual event on August 14, honoring the Liberty Elm and what it represents.

Boyd said the city is late in honoring that pledge but it will be honored.