06/16/2026
Members of Sussex County Council joined with representatives of the Delaware Freemasons and the Sussex County Land Trust on Tuesday, June 16, in a tree planting ceremony as part of the forthcoming America250 celebration. The event, at Hopkins Preserve near Lewes, was part of an initiative by the Delaware Freemasons to plant Liberty Trees in all three counties as the United States marks its semiquincentennial this July 4. The trees are descended from the former Annapolis Liberty Tree in Maryland, where patriots gathered during the American Revolution and was believed to be the oldest surviving of its kind in the nation, a tulip poplar, until Hurricane Floyd in 1999 damaged it. The trees have come to be regarded as symbols of the country’s deep roots in the cause for freedom and the continued growth toward a more perfect union. Sussex County government is honored to be part of the America250 celebration and looks forward to this Liberty Tree's growth for generations to come.
