PORTLAND, Ore. — While the mystery of the missing tree at Mill Ends Park — the world's smallest park — remains unsolved, the small plot of land is now no longer barren.
On Tuesday, Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) replaced the tree that disappeared about two weeks ago. There was speculation that it was stolen or carried away during the ice storm.
PP&R replaced the missing tree with a dwarf Alberta spruce and covered the ground in Irish moss, at an estimated cost of $200 in plants.
It's not the first time the tree has gone missing. PP&R said it had to be replaced twice last year and once in 2019, after vandals took off with it. At that time, Portland Parks estimated it would cost just $3-5 to replace it.
Mill Ends Park has been around since the late 1940s. It started out as a just a hole in the ground where a lamp post used to be. It was commissioned in the honor of eccentric columnist Dick Fagen, who documented the park and its quixotic happenings — as a potential home for leprechauns.
It's unclear when the first tree was planted at the park, but it has held the title of "World's Smallest Park" since 1976, according to the Guinness World Records website.
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