THERE is a sunny corner of Tennessee that is forever Swindon. Or at least, it pays the town a handsome tribute.

An English oak has stood in a special section of the magnificent Coolidge Park in Chattanooga since spring of 2007, donated by a local firm called Rico Monuments.

A plaque explains to visitors why such a tree is being grown more than 4,100 miles from its ancestral homeland: “This English Oak was planted in honour of our Twinning City of Swindon, UK.”

The site is probably the only tangible evidence of a mutual twinning project which seems to have been dormant for many years.

The oak stands in an area of the park called the Peace Grove, on a site formerly occupied by a much-loved historic elm which was downed by a storm.

The grove is also home to trees symbolising Chattanooga’s other international friendship arrangements.

The oak is a symbol of an international friendship agreement of which only the most devoted Swindon general knowledge enthusiasts are aware.

It was officially dedicated on Arbor Day, an international tree-planting celebration usually celebrated in spring, eight years ago.

The sun shone, dignitaries including Chattanooga mayor Ron Littlefield made speeches and a choir from the splendidly-named Normal Park Museum Magnet School sang in honour of the occasion.

For award-winning Chattanooga Urban Forester Gene Hyde and his team, the occasion was a triumph.

It was Mr Hyde and his colleagues who supplied our photos of the Peace Grove.

Almost everybody in Swindon knows the town is twinned with Salzgitter in Germany – the arrangement celebrates its 40th anniversary this year – and Ocotal in the Central American country of Nicaragua.

Many also know of our official friendship and co-operation agreement with Torun in Poland.

Some will even remember our one-year twinning arrangement with Disney World in Florida in 2009.

That came about after a young Swindon woman called Rebecca Warren entered her home town in a competition organised by the resort.

Our link with Chattanooga, though still officially in existence, is far less widely known.

The Adver was recently reminded of it by a reader called William Abraham, who read about the project in an old copy of the newspaper he came across while cleaning out his shed.

The link was first proposed at a meeting of the Town Twinning Network held at the Civic Offices on September 15, 2005.

A report was prepared, listing similarities between the two communities, including similar population size, strong industrial and commercial bases, teaching hospitals and transport hubs.

Tourism was also listed, with Chattanooga being known as The Scenic City Of The South and having the world’s largest freshwater aquarium, and Swindon having a major railway museum.

The initial impetus for twinning seems to have come from Andy Lane, the boss of Swindon firm Darackmotorsport.

He told us at the time: “I was in Chattanooga last year and realised the similarities with Swindon.”

We were unable to get in touch with Mr Lane.

Another name associated with the transatlantic friendship was veteran Swindon councillor Doreen Dart.

Coun Dart, who devoted thousands of hours of work to developing Swindon’s twinning relationships during more than 25 years of public service, died in 2012.

The councils of both Swindon and Chattanooga have confirmed that the friendship agreement is still very much in operation, so perhaps we can look forward to stronger links in the future.

In the meantime, Adver readers who happen to find themselves in Chattanooga might wish to pay a visit to our oak tree – which is still lovingly maintained by Gene Hyde and his team.