The Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge National Historical Park is now home to a piece of George Washington’s beloved tulip poplar tree, writes Michelle Myers for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The three-year-old sapling was planted at the cemetery’s Defenders’ Gate along Valley Forge Road during a Sunday ceremony.

“I can’t think of any better spot to bring one of Washington’s trees,” said Dean Norton, Mount Vernon’s director of horticulture and a member of the White House Preservation Committee.

Norton, who drove from Virginia to deliver the sapling, added that he feels like he brought a bit of George Washington back to Valley Forge, the place where he endured the brutal winter of 1777-78 with his Continental Army.

Washington became the first U.S. president more than a decade later and continued to reside both in Philadelphia and New York. However, he chose Mount Vernon as his residence after he retired from political life.

“The original tree [where the sapling is from] was a living witness to George Washington’s life,” said Norton. “Now we are bringing a descendant to that history to Valley Forge.”

Read more about the sapling from George Washington’s beloved tulip poplar in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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