Please Help Us
Save a Living Treasure
Update: August 29, 2026
Preservation in Progress
Thanks to your generous support, the historic Franklin Trees at Bellefontaine will continue to stand for decades to come, allowing future generations to experience these remarkable icons of both history and horticulture.
Watch this video to see our preservation work in progress.
We Met Our Fundraising Goal!
100%
Thank you for your generous gifts!
We Made It!
Your generosity helped us reach our goal and save this living treasure.
Thanks to your generous support, the historic Franklin Trees at Bellefontaine will continue to stand for decades to come, allowing future generations to experience these remarkable icons of both history and horticulture.
Though we have met our goal for our treasured Franklin Tree, we have other trees that can benefit from more care. Because we are a non-profit Cemetery and Arboretum, every dollar directly impacts our preservation efforts.
If you wish to help us with our tree conservation efforts,
please consider making a gift today.
Watch Our Videos
See How Your Support is Helping Us Save Our Franklin Tree
Part 1: About Our Franklin Tree
At Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum, we are home to the largest Franklin tree in the entire St. Louis region—a breathtaking, historic specimen found nowhere else in the wild. In this video, you will see that our most magnificent Franklin tree is in real danger. Perched on a high, windy hill, it has endured years of severe weather. Its multiple trunks are now pressing against one another, creating deep, internal splits. Without immediate structural support, this irreplaceable tree could literally tear apart.
Part 2: Halfway to Our Goal
We are halfway to our goal! Thank you to everyone who has made a gift to save our historic Franklin tree—we sincerely appreciate your generosity and support! This is more than a tree—it is a living piece of American history. Through its strained limbs and splitting bark, it is telling us it needs help to continue bringing joy to everyone who views its exquisite flowers. As a non-profit Cemetery and Arboretum, every dollar directly impacts our conservation and preservation efforts.
Part 3: We Met Our Goal
Thanks to your incredible generosity, we have officially reached our goal to save our historic Franklin Tree! While our Franklin Tree goal is complete, we have many other historic trees that benefit from ongoing care.
Watch this special update from Director of Horticulture, James Faupel, to learn more—and if you’d like to support our continuing tree conservation efforts, please consider making a gift today!
Preserving a Living Legacy
At BCA, we are home to the largest Franklin tree in the entire St. Louis region—a breathtaking, historic specimen found nowhere else in the wild. Today, this extraordinary living piece of American botanical history needs us more than ever.
Perched on a high, windy hill, its multiple trunks are pressing against one another, creating deep internal splits that put it in real danger of tearing apart. Because the Franklin tree is extinct in the wild, its survival depends entirely on careful human stewardship.
Please consider sending a gift today to help fund the expert arborist care, structural cabling, and precise pruning needed to reinforce and protect this irreplaceable treasure for generations to come.
Every Major Stem Has Begun to Split
Due to "included bark"—a condition where bark grows inward between co-dominant stems instead of outward—the connections holding the tree's massive canopy together are exceptionally weak.
Weak Connections
Included bark prevents a strong wood-to-wood bond between the main trunks, creating inherent structural flaws.
A New Split Has Appeared
Recent evaluations revealed new, active splitting. We have deployed temporary ratchet straps to hold the tree together
One Trunk Could Peel Away
If action isn't taken, wind or ice could cause a stem failure, stripping half the tree away and likely killing the entire specimen.
Temporary Repairs Have Bought Time.
The Tree Needs More Help.
The straps currently holding the stems together are only a stopgap measure. To save the tree long-term, we must install permanent, professional cabling and bracing systems tailored to its specific canopy weight and movement.
Action Plan
What Your Gift Will Help Make Possible
Installation of permanent, dynamic cabling to stabilize the canopy
Professional arboricultural evaluation and risk assessment
Structural bracing to secure the splitting lower trunks
Long-term preservation work and specialized soil care
Professional arboricultural evaluation and risk assessment
Protection of a living historical artifact for future generations
Our Team
The People Working to Protect It
Sherry Smith
President | CEO
James Faupel
Director of Horticulture
Daniel Fuller
Cemetery Chronicler
Joe Shields
Director of Development
Save a Living Treasure
Your support creates an immediate, lasting impact. Your gift today directly funds the critical preservation of our rare Franklin tree—providing the urgent structural cabling, bracing, and expert arborist care needed to save this historic specimen. Every contribution directly strengthens our mission to protect and preserve this magnificent, irreplaceable piece of botanical history.
Your Gift Protects More Than a Tree
A living testament to early American botanical exploration and the legacy of the Bartram family's pioneering work and a powerful symbol of how human intervention can prevent extinction and preserve species for future centuries.
Will You Make a Gift Today?
Help us save our Franklin Tree and protect a Living Treasure.
Or call Joe Shields at: (314) 880-8579
Friends of Bellefontaine Cemetery Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.