The Twilite Motel may never become a historic landmark.

Yet the business on Route 1 in Ellsworth has pieces of living history on its grounds.

Linda and Marv Snow, who bought the motel in 1995, were considering how to best landscape their property. Then a friend introduced them to the concept of historic trees.

Thus the John Muir Trail East, named after the famous naturalist, was born. They planted 16 historic trees in two loops in front of their motel, with a mulched footpath winding through the trees. They’re putting up small plaques to identify each tree, a task they will complete this winter.

So now the motel’s guests can wander past an Edgar Allan Poe hackberry, an Elvis pin oak and an Abraham Lincoln black walnut, among others.

“People have been pleased with the lawns and the flowers, and now there’s the trees as well,” Linda Snow said. “There’s guests walking around each morning, and it’s fun to see that.”

The Snows bought the plants from the nursery of the Historic Tree Project, a branch of American Forests, based in Jacksonville, Fla.

Jeff Meyer, founder of the project, said that historic sites provide the nursery with seeds from a particular tree, so authenticating the plants is quite simple, according to Meyer.

Meyer said the nursery offers 120 to 150 different trees at any time, with about one-third of its inventory changing each year.

The nursery’s workers germinate the seeds and grow the trees. The saplings sold from the nursery range from 18 inches to 3 feet tall.

Some small trees are returned to the historic site, while the nursery sells others to the general public.

The trees have a lifetime guarantee, with the nursery replacing those that die for only shipping charges.

“We want to get people excited and motivated about taking care of important trees,” said Meyer, author of the book “America’s Famous and Historic Trees.”

Why is it important to preserve such trees?

“Without trees, there would be no vertical expression to our country, except mountains,” Meyer said. “They’re our oldest living witnesses. Also the oldest trees store the most carbon, so they’re mostly environmentally beneficial.”

The Snows planted most of their trees last spring. They have one older historic tree – a descendent of the last apple tree planted by Johnny Appleseed – that they planted in 2001. The small trees are kept inside green tubes for two years to protect them from severe weather conditions and pests. They’ve lost two trees, which were replaced.

The couple said the trees aren’t difficult to grow.

“We just followed the directions and used the fertilizer that was sent with them, and that was it,” Marv Snow said.

The walkway was another story, as Marv sunk about 100 hours into it, drilling holes in landscaping timbers and sinking reinforcements.

The Snows don’t plan to add any more trees, as the ones they have will grow up to 70 feet tall and 35 feet wide.

The couple sees the trail as a contribution to their adopted community.

“We like Ellsworth, and we really wanted to do something pretty for Ellsworth,” Linda Snow said.

For more information on American Forests’ Historic Trees Project, call (800) 320-TREE (8733) or visit www.historictrees.org.