A plan to construct the world’s tallest flagpole – taller than the Empire State Constructing – to fly an American flag greater than a soccer ball in the Maine wilderness has divided a small town near the proposed site.
The $1 billion project – dubbed the Flagpole of Freedom Park – is designed to “unite Americans, remind them of the centuries of sacrifice made to defend our freedom, and unite a divided America,” said Morrill Worcester, founder of Worcester Wreath.
As a substitute, he divided the people of Columbia Falls, the town of only 485 people closest to the plot on which the huge flagpole was to be erected.
Residents debated whether a flagpole – which could be visible for miles – would spoil the magnificent natural landscape and questioned its environmental impact.
The project also faced opposition at a time when the American flag itself had develop into so politicized.
The mast could be 1,461 meters high – seven feet taller than the Empire State Constructing in Recent York – and include elevators that will take visitors to the remark decks where they might enjoy stunning views of Canada’s vast greenery. It could take 10 years to finish.
“It’s like putting the Eiffel Tower in the Maine wilderness,” one concerned resident told the Associated Press.
![Columbia Falls, Maine sign](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013482053.jpg?w=1024)
But the colossal scale of the project doesn’t end there.
Worcester also envisioned a village with living museums telling the history of the United States through the eyes of veterans.
There are plans for a 4,000-seat auditorium, restaurants and a memorial wall with the names of all fallen soldiers from the Revolutionary War – about 24 million names.
Neat presentations showed what might be in comparison with a patriotic amusement park, full of gondolas to move visitors.
The proposal shocked Columbia Falls residents
Completion of the park would come with paving vast green forests for roads and parking lots, in addition to constructing housing for a whole bunch if not 1000’s of employees.
The current land is an oasis of evergreens, wild berries, ponds, lakes and streams filled with trout and Atlantic salmon. Deer, moose, black bears, beavers and fishing cats roam the forest floor.
![Columbia waterfalls](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013482051.jpg?w=1024)
Some residents fear their little piece of paradise could turn into a tourist trap with souvenir shops, fast food outlets and shopping malls.
“It’s the last wild life on the East Coast,” said Marie Emerson, whose husband Dell, a Columbia Falls native and longtime blueberry grower and manager of a university research farm.
He believes that the unspoilt nature is what makes the area so special.
Major development could spell the end of the wildlife that has been there for 10,000 years and Native Americans were the first stewards.
“You should kill the goose that laid the golden eggs?” she asked.
Worcester, whose wreath business became nationally known for donating wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery. His wife runs the non-profit spinoff organization Wreaths Across America, which donates tens of millions of wreaths to the graves of service members every year.
The wreaths put Columbia Falls on the map as a patriotic tourist attraction.
Motorists entering the sleepy town are met with more flags and Pledge of Allegiance signs along US 1.
The greeting reads “Columbia Falls, home of wreaths throughout America.”
Worcester unveiled a proposal for a Freedom Park flagpole last yr in a good presentation that showed the flagpole stretching into the sky – 1,776 feet above sea level.
“Most individuals were, let’s assume, shocked to see it was so big,” says Jeff Greene, a contractor and one of three members of the city’s select committee.
Residents against the project also faced a hurdle as the 10,000-acre plot for the project is positioned in a neighboring town under a state agency.
Worcester’s solution: push through the legislature a bill allowing residents to vote to annex land.
![Columbia Falls, Maine](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013482047.jpg?w=1024)
The people of Columbia Falls quickly took sides. Some saw Worcester as a sympathetic businessman who wanted to construct the attraction to bring much-needed relief to an area hit by an economic crisis.
Others saw a hawkish businessman attempting to impose his version of America on others.
“That will be out of place.” Charlie Robbins, a retired Maine Department of Transportation employee who enjoys hunting and fishing, told the AP while climbing through the woods.
He doesn’t query the motive behind the flagpole, but he just feels it would not be appropriate for the area.
“It’s just different from my vision,” he says. “I hunt and fish in the area. I do not like crowds. It’s a bit selfish, but that is how I feel.”
In March, Columbia Falls residents voted overwhelmingly to implement a six-month moratorium on major investments to offer the city time to develop the essential rules and regulations.
![Columbia Falls, Maine](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013482049.jpg?w=1024)
But as the debate continues, some residents have found themselves in the difficult position of criticizing the American flag – albeit on an unprecedented scale. One resident told a recent meeting that she didn’t wish to look out the window day-after-day and see the pole, which upset her.
“I didn’t prefer it,” said Peter Doak, the school’s retired principal.
“Possibly sooner or later we’ll get up and see the hammer and sickle flying up there,” he added.
“To say that the flagpole of the United States is nasty, I do not really prefer it,” he said. “But they do not mind searching the window at mobile phone towers or windmills.”
Meanwhile, Worcester is silent as the project stays frozen in a suspended administrative moratorium.
“As we refine our plans,” the statement reads, “we remain true to our vision and are more confident than ever that our evolving plan will result in a place where all Americans can have a good time our country’s history of service together.”
With postal wires