WATERLOO, N.Y. (AP) — A poplar tree in upstate New York dating back to before the Civil War has grown around three farm tool blades and is in need of a trimming.

The “Scythe Tree,” as it’s called, is located in Waterloo, midway between Rochester and Syracuse. It was planted in front of a farmer’s house before the Civil War.

A man who joined the Union Army placed a scythe in the tree’s notch and told his parents not to remove it until he came home. He later died in a Confederate hospital.

During World War I, two local brothers placed scythes in the tree. They survived the war, and their scythes remain embedded in the tree.

The (Syracuse) Post-Standard reports a local historian is raising funds needed to have the tree trimmed.