CHARLESTON — Most trees sprout from the ground, grow tall and, eventually, fall.

One downtown tree has had a different life cycle. After growing tall, this bald cypress was supposedly felled, drowned, plucked from a lake bottom and replanted. Sort of.

The result is perhaps Charleston’s most unusual landmark — the tree trunk lighthouse of Heriot Street.

It’s the sort of sight that prompts questions. Lots of them. Such as, “Why plant a dead tree in the ground?” and, “After planting a dead tree, why install a rotating light atop the trunk?”

For answers, The Post and Courier entered the offices of Carter’s City Self-Storage beside the cypress tree trunk. Here, two members of the Carter family spilled the beans, divulging all they knew about the whimsical wooden tower that has stood just so

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