Locked With Love Tree

“A couple of years ago when we visited Paris I was impressed with the “Love Locks” on the Ponts des Arts Bridge,” said Barbara Thompson. “The locks are placed there by couples to signify their enduring love and then the key is tossed into the River Seine so the lock can never be removed and becomes a symbol their love will last as long as the lock is on the fence. We don’t have a river or a bridge in Downtown Lufkin, but we do have a park.”

Without a river or a bridge, Lufkin worked with the city's engineering department to create a tree, in the East Texas piney woods, on which locks can hang. The tree created for the project is 8 feet tall and 4 feet in diameter with rings around the “trunk” for the locks.

“The tree represents a strong and growing love, and the rings around the tree represent infinity or the enduring love of a couple,” Thompson said.

Couples can come to the park, put their lock on the tree, drop the key in the sign by the tree and show that their love is a lasting relationship.