Troutdale has a new Lovers Oak, the second of its kind, on the south side of the Harlow House museum.
The new tree is a real oak tree planted a decade ago, but with a curving twisting trunk of concrete created by an artist. It duplicates the original Lovers Oak which grew near the Troutdale airport on property that is now Troutdale’s sewer plant.
The original tree was shaped by an 1876 Columbia River flood. The slender oak was forced over one log and under another, maturing into the shape of the letter "S" lying on its side. The lowest curve of the S-shaped tree formed a perfect bench where friends and lovers met on pleasant Sunday afternoons. Local residents began to call it the Lovers Oak.
During World War II when the government built the aluminum plant nearby, it was agreed to fence and protect the tree. The publicity resulting from that decision brought the tree to the attention of Ripley's "Believe it or Not," a nationally syndicated cartoon featuring unusual items throughout the world.
After the war, the tree was forgotten by most. It fell in the Columbus Day windstorm of 1962, but the image remained in memory as the logo of the Troutdale Historical Society.
