Friday marks three years since The Senator, once the world's largest and oldest pond cypress tree, burned to the ground in Seminole County after a woman who admitted to doing drugs inside the ancient tree ignited a fire that destroyed it.



Now, three years later, county leaders are making sure The Senator is not forgotten.



The tree, which stood for an estimated 3,500 years, was a beloved landmark for many at Big Tree Park in Longwood.

"They grew up going there as children, with their grandparents or parents, for family get-togethers," said Jim Duby, Seminole County's Natural Lands program manager. "



Duby recalled the day The Senator was reduced to ruins on Jan. 16, 2012.

"We just stood there in shock that the big tree was actually on fire," he said. "We knew that we couldn't just let that be it."

Within a year, Seminole County leaders preserved what was left of The Senator in Big Tree Park, where visitors can now walk past it on a guided boardwalk.

Nearby, there are even descendants of The Senator. Even a "clone" tree now grows in the park, split off from the original.

But what about all of the wood left over from parts of the tree that fell?

"A tree that is that old deserves something better than just taking it out to the landfill and letting it rot," said Bob Hughes, a woodworker in Geneva.



Seminole County leaders want to place one of the last few remaining large pieces of wood left over from The Senator with other pieces, so they can show just how big the tree was. At the time of its destruction, The Senator was about 18 feet wide and 118 feet tall.



County leaders commissioned several artisans to then take other pieces and turn them into works of art.

"We wanted to keep it somewhat historic, and something that would be fitting for the tree," said Hughes.



Those artisans have carved raccoons, fish, bald eagles and even an eagle's nest made with twigs from the original tree.

In return for their work, they are also using some of the wood to make household items to sell, so people can buy their own piece of history.

That history is not lost on Hughes, who has the task of dispersing the wood.

"We're talking about a tree that was 100 years old when Moses was here," said Hughes.



Sara Barnes pleaded guilty in June to charges related to burning down The Senator. She is serving five years of probation and paying restitution as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time.

You can find out more about how the county's efforts to keep The Senator remembered at Seminole County's Parks and Recreation website.