Parks Department

Did George Washington Cut Down The Cherry Tree?

The Cherry tree myth is one of the oldest and best known legends about George Washington. In the original story, when Washington was six, he received a hatchet as a gift and damaged his father’s cherry tree with it. When his father discovered what George had done, he became angry. Young George bravely said, “I cannot tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet.” Washington’s father embraced him and declared that his son’s honesty was worth more than a thousand trees. What is perhaps the most enduring tale is he chopped down a cherry tree when he was a boy and told his dad the truth about it, in turn gaining the moral high ground that we should all aim for. But that is fiction. The legend was the invention of a 19th-century bookseller named Mason Locke Weems in 1806, who wanted to present a role model to his American readers. Weems claimed he got the story from an unidentified elderly woman who had been friends with the family. But the myth has endured for more than two hundred years. It remains influential in Americans’ beliefs about Washington. The story has been featured in comic strips, cartoons, children’s books, and especially political cartoons. We will never forget our first president George Washington, whom our city is named after. This newsletter article is part of a series commemorating the America 250 Celebration and features excerpts from a speech delivered by Katie Allen, a Senior at Pine View High School, at the opening of George Washington Plaza in April 2025.

–Parks Department

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