HARRISBURG, Pa. — Just off of Linglestown Road and tucked behind Spade Fire Supply is the John Goodaway Sycamore tree.
The tree, thought to be about 300 years old, is both a source of pride and great history in Dauphin County for Bill Minsker, who is a member of the Lower Paxton Township Historical Commission.
The tree stood tall during a much different time period in Pennsylvania, when both Native Americans and Quakers lived amongst each other, according to Minsker.
“At first it was a peaceful, cooperative arrangement when the Quakers were still in charge of Pennsylvania government, this was a very peaceful area," he says. "Until later the Quakers lost their influence and other groups like the Germans took over ruling Pennsylvania and then it all changed.
“There are a number of historical documents that list a story about the last Indian that lived in the area. His name was John Goodaway or Goodway, there are two ways of spelling it."
Goodaway is said to have been buried just north of the tree.
Today, the Lower Paxton Township Historical Commission claims that it is the largest tree in the state. The commission aims to preserve the tree both for it's size as well as the history that comes with it.
This hope has come to fruition this summer, according to Barry Spade, who leases the property that the tree sits on.
“You walk up to this tree, you don’t realize the size of it," he says. "I mean, not just height, the circumference of this tree is 26 feet, and that is unbelievable. We’ve had people from California, Georgia, Virginia -- there was somebody here from Gretna, Pennsylvania yesterday.”
Spade says that he was warned he might get a few visitors to see the tree, but didn’t expect people to come almost every week.
“I think with Covid, I think people are, since they can’t go to the parks and things like that, or they can now, but I think people are striking out and going to the state and national parks more and paying more attention to things like this," says Spade.
Both Spade and Minsker hope that visitors continue to come see the tree and learn more about the unique history that South Central Pennsylvania can provide.
Minsker hopes that one day the property around the tree can be turned into a park so that kids can enjoy the green space and continue to learn about the history of the area.