BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 19, 2023
After a nearly three-year saga of the courthouse trees, a retired Houlton attorney won his bid to restore the exterior of the Aroostook County Superior Courthouse to what he calls its historic majesty with elm trees. In a complete turn around, the Aroostook County Commissioners approved Dick Rhoda’s offer to purchase 10 Princeton Elm trees instead of the County purchasing red and sugar maples recommended by staff. Elms are an American native tree and in the 1890s Houlton lined the streets with them to improve the aesthetic value of the downtown, Rhoda said. With such an iconic courthouse, he wanted to see the elms restored after the originals were lost to disease. On Earth Day this year, the county cut down all the other species of trees in front of the courthouse, creating a barren landscape.