This Alberta tree has been dead for nearly 50 years and once fell over but locals still care for it
There’s a centuries-old tree in southern Alberta that’s been dead for nearly 50 years and even toppled over once, but locals still care for it like a new sapling.
It may sound odd, but the Burmis Tree is a beloved heritage attraction in the Crowsnest Pass. The tree is a limber pine with delicately twisted branches that experts estimate stood for somewhere between 300 and as many as 700 years before finally dying around 1978, the last known time the tree had green needles.
Today, it stands atop a low stony ridge beside Highway 3 near the former town of Burmis, about 10 kilometres east of the Frank Slide. Limber pines are among the longest living trees native to Alberta, and every year, thousands stop by to snap a photo of the wind-sculpted branches of the Burmis Tree.
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The tree was already hundreds of years old when Burmis was established, and it watched the community come and go. In 1910, the Davenport Coal Company started operations, and the village of Burmis sprang up with an NWMP police post, pool hall, school, church and a handful of businesses.
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The mine operated for only four years until it closed in 1914, leading to the rapid decline of Burmis. The Burmis Lumber Company operations briefly rejuvenated the town between 1933 and 1956, but eventually faded away. Burmis is no more, and only a few houses and recreational properties remain.
The tree has since gone on to become a symbol for the Crowsnest Pass and a representation of survival against the odds. In 1998, strong winds toppled the tree, and it was later vandalized in 2004. However, the Crowsnest Pass community has worked to keep it upright.
Today, the tree is supported by metal stilts and braces, and some of its branches have been glued into place. An interpretive panel gives visitors a rundown on the ancient tree’s history.
The tree has also been featured in countless art forms. It has appeared in paintings, photographs, poems, and sculptures, and was also the logo for the Alberta Historic Resources Foundation. It featured a silhouette of the Burmis Tree, saying in part that “given its deep history and the public’s interest in both preserving and appreciating the tree, it seems an excellent icon for the foundation.”