The Message Tree
Saying Goodbye to the Iconic Woodstock Message Tree
A 60-foot-tall red maple at the corner of Hurd Road and West Shore Road, just uphill from the Woodstock Monument, is the Message Tree.
During Woodstock, it functioned as a bulletin board with improvised notes on paper plates and signs on scraps of paper and cardboard. The tree's height and unique profile were a useful landmark on the Woodstock site. Located at the festival's crossroads, the Message Tree helped people navigate and find their friends.
An information booth was built nearby. Both the booth and the tree served as meeting points and places to leave messages. The Museum at Bethel Woods has ephemera that reads, with the first word looking like it was written in lipstick, "Susan - meet you here Saturday 11 AM, 3 PM or 7PM."
In total, The Museum has 9 such original notes in its permanent collection.
The Message Tree at the Woodstock 1969 Music & Art Fair. It sits at the crossroads of Hurd Road (North/South) and West Shore Road (East/West). It was highly visible from the Main Field and other areas of the site. Photograph by Lisa Law. Bethel Woods Collection.
The Message Tree during the festival from the crowd's perspective. Photograph by James Sarles. Bethel Woods Collection.
Woodstock attendees hang out next to the Message Tree with many notes pinned to its trunk. Photograph by Ilene Levine. Bethel Woods Collection.
Keeping the legacy alive
As the Message Tree aged, structural issues and other problems threatened its longevity. In 2015, the decision was made to propagate the tree to preserve its DNA past the dwindling time the original tree had left. Arborists at Summer Hill Nursery took many cuttings of the tree, resulting in new saplings. One of these saplings already calls Bethel Woods home, with more to follow.
Experts from Bartlett Tree Services advised on the preservation of the original tree, working alongside Bethel Woods grounds staff to prolong the Message Tree's life for nearly another decade.
In 2024, experts determined that what remained of the Message Tree had low structural integrity and was in danger of falling. The tree was professionally removed to preserve the wood and to prevent an uncontrolled break or fall.
After the tree came down, Bethel Woods invited artists to submit proposals for creating lasting works from the original Message Tree. While we assemble a panel to thoughtfully review each submission, the wood continues its essential drying and curing process. Once it has fully stabilized, we will determine what can be made available and share our next steps.
Message Tree Artist Proposals Update
Thank you to everyone who submitted thoughtful and heartfelt proposals. We deeply appreciate the time, creativity, and care that went into each submission.
At this time, the wood from the Message Tree is undergoing an essential drying and curing process, which is a lengthy but necessary step to ensure its stability for artistic use. We are carefully reviewing each proposal and assembling a panel to evaluate them. This panel will thoughtfully select the artists who will receive pieces of the tree to transform into new works of art.
While our initial plan was to showcase these works in an upcoming exhibition, we must adjust our timeline while we wait for the material to fully cure. Once the process is complete, we will announce new plans for exhibiting or publicly sharing the artworks created from this historic tree.
We appreciate your patience and enthusiasm and will share further updates as they become available.