Tree Project to bring Vintage Historical Look Back to Downtown Summerville

The landscape of Downtown Summerville from 1900 through the 1950s included a feature that has been gone too long for some residents; trees. Until, according to resident Richard Lindsay, Summerville’s mayor at the time “thought Summerville would look more like a big city if they cut down all the trees.” Lindsay recalls the shock when the mayor took matters into his own hands. “… he started about two o’clock that morning and cut them down. I remember coming through town that Sunday morning and my mother and grandmother were so mad they came down and protested at city hall and just had a big to-do. It pretty much just changed the whole look of our town,” Lindsay said.

Since November 2017, Lindsay and other members of the tree board have requested the City Council to bring trees back to the landscape of downtown. There were many details to iron out regarding the trees, the variety, location and how many among other considerations.

“The tree issue has been one of the most requested things I’ve heard from the citizens the past seven years. Hopefully this will help our town look like it used to, also I want to add a big thanks to Richard Lindsay and Councilman Ford for their passion to make Downtown better,” Councilman Joe Money said.