A crowd gathered in front of a tree felled during Friday night’s thunderstorm to take pictures and collect a leaf or two as a memento and even mourn, for this was no ordinary tree.

Perhaps 150 years old or more, the silver maple tucked away on Laing St. in Leslieville, is famous for being the inspiration of what used to be Canada’s unofficial anthem. Historians are dubious, but as the story goes, a persistent leaf from the tree stuck itself to poet Alexander Muir’s sleeve in the fall of 1867, serving as the inspiration for “The Maple Leaf Forever,” a poem-turned-song-turned-unofficial-anthem.

But, “it’s not forever anymore,” said Julie Ritchie, watching the tree lying sprawled across the road from her front porch. “There was something really special about the tree, even though it was quite old and in bad shape.”

PHOTOS: Maple Leaf, not forever

RELATED: Severe thunderstorm knocks out power for thousands in GTA

Despite being old and in poor shape — supported a bit by overhead wires — the silver maple survived last week’s epic summer storm, countless other foul-weather moments throughout history and even a developer’s attempt to remove it in 1992.

When it finally gave way, “it sounded like a firecracker,” said resident Sarah Knowles. “I couldn’t believe it, that’s been there for a long time. It’s shocking.”

Roughly a dozen people spontaneously gathered on Laing St. around the tree, stepping carefully around downed power lines, as word of its demise spread. Most residents admitted the tree was likely kept up purely for historical reasons, even though most old trees are taken down for safety reasons.

Since the tale first spread of the persistent leaf’s inspiring landing, the tree and the Maple Cottage it grew in front of have been a transformative part of the neighbourhood.

An adjacent park was named after the song, both the tree and the Cottage received historical designation and most recently, the entire area was redeveloped to resemble its Victorian Era self.

After falling, the tree blocked the road, making the street a mess of bark, branches and wires. It took down a hydro wire during its fall, but narrowly missed a Leslieville resident’s car.

The trunk of the tree was intact, but sticking up in the air, trapped in its fall by a hydro wire.

Leaves picked off the dead branches for safekeeping are all that’s left, linked with Muir’s words: “And may those ties of love be ours, Which discord cannot sever, And flourish green for freedom’s home, The Maple Leaf Forever.”

Since it was originally written, “The Maple Leaf Forever,” has been updated numerous times, once by Muir himself two decades after he originally penned the poem. “In days of yore/ From Britain’s shore/ Wolfe the dauntless hero came,” it always began, referencing the British general who won at the Plains of Abraham in 1759, ensuring Canada’s future in British hands.

Updates since then have focused on making the words more inclusive to Canadians of non-British origin. For some, the nationalist music is still used to support a more narrow view of Canada.

Contentious lyrics aside, however, Ritchie said she’s sad to see the tree go, adding it’s a hard loss for the community: “There were people who worked hard to preserve it.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Annette Takatsch, 57, has lived only a block from the tree since she was a teenager.

“It’s very sad,” she said. “It’s a shame. It’s a beautiful old tree, you seen an old tree like that go down it just takes away the history.”