World Art Utopia

Middlegate Shoe Tree

Dozens of pairs of shoes hanging from the branches of trees beside U.S. Route 50 near Middlegate, Nevada
Artwork FileMiddlegate, United States

Middlegate Shoe Tree

Seen2017

Visitor-made · Middlegate, Nevada, United States

Photo: Famartin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); resized from the SAU archive.

Shoes hang from trees beside U.S. Route 50 east of Middlegate, Nevada. The original Shoe Tree was cut down at the end of 2010; travellers took up a nearby tree, and that replacement is the one in our photo. Source Source Reported

Seen 2017. Evidence date: 2017. Dated report, not confirmation of present condition. Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. This is the replacementTravel Nevada says the original Shoe Tree was cut down in 2010 and locals chose a nearby tree as the new one. Source Reported
  2. Reported at the timeThe Associated Press reported the felling of the original tree on 4 January 2011. Source Checked
  3. The wedding story is folkloreTravel Nevada tells of a quarrelling newlywed couple as one version of how the shoes began, not as a verified account. Source Unconfirmed
  4. The new tree took overHoward Goldbaum’s account, updated in 2017, says a nearby tree was by then well on the way. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

North side of U.S. Route 50, about 2.4 miles east of Middlegate Station · Nevada, United States Source Checked

Open in Maps

Map pin is approximate; use the named site or address to locate the subject.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 20114 Jan

    Original tree’s felling reported by AP

  2. 20152 Apr

    Replacement shoe trees photographed by Famartin

  3. 2017

    Goldbaum: the new tree “well on the way”

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Objects
Shoes hanging from the branches Source Checked
Road
U.S. Route 50 Source Source Checked
Directions
2.4 miles east of Middlegate Station, north side Source Checked
Original tree
Cut down; reported by AP on 4 January 2011 Source Checked
Origin story
Newlywed quarrel; folklore, not verified Source Unconfirmed

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Famartin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); resized from the SAU archive.

Last checked: 26 October 2026 · How we verify art