Eaton Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1843-1856, 1856-09-04
From tns Hartford tconn1 Times e
FALL oF.THE noID CHARTER 0AK.p


The fsmons old Charter 0al Of this city SOL
roied HI song snd history fell with aiIemenl-f (
ops crash during The great storm Al quorieI bel
fore one O'clock fhid morninF, tAugust 2i, /
This noble old tree stood upon the beautifully
erotbnhs OF Hon. Isaac j. SiusIt. iBte the
EWyilyss estate. in IRE southstn part ofihe city.
About ibree years pgo. some boys built o FIRE
IN the hollow OF This tree, which burnt outthe
punk, and though IT. was feared that this
would Kill itsueb was not the fact. Fresh
Sprouts sprung oui the next spring, and Mr..
lS:usft took eteat pains 10 preserve this valued
relic OF The original forests OF New England,
| but mote especially interesting us the tree in
which The old British ChsIief of Connecticut
was secreied and pgesersed. Al. this time The |
hollow IN the trunk or The old oak was so |
large That Ere compsny OF tweuiy-seven full
grown men stood up in il togeiher.J y
1 Mr.. Stgsrt had q stout door made 10 shut upI
the entrance, and he also pgced tin caps upon
The stpIDps Of broken limbs, and for the past
4 three or four years fresh sprouts have frownl
upon,most OF It's limbs. ihcnsh other limbs
1 were decaying.4 At the time OF is fall, young
4 and fresh acorns were growing on every par
lofit Thousands Of people are visiting the
]Ltree, and bringing away such spfigs and paris
'lof1 limbs ss MT. Stuart permits, t Us faa
Walchman Butler says he Stood OF the head
Iof The street al The time Of the crash. The
d wind he'd been blowing freshly from the north
west for 40 hour or more. He first heard q
4 loud crack, end saw The Old Oak sswying 10
4 The breeze; cracking noise followed. then
i he crash all within the space Of half o min
4 .lnte--end The fauions monarch Of the forest
whose historyis soJntmstely entwined in that
!; OF Connecticut, wns PROSTATE upon the earth !
4 One Thousand years ago, when it YVES IN the
I prime Of iiie- when its years were half num-
IIIbered--its far reaching brancies had sporied
lin fetcer storms and winged winds.
Bpi now, SINCE foil two Thousand years have
[smjied and waned upon its youth. is prime
= aad lis decline, it had become gray and de-
Ecrepift but sill W tenacious OF life itstiil
|, chung 10 the lovely spoi which gave II birth,
|, by lis fsr reaching roots, running . long way
tlup into the beauiifnl hillside sndsdownward
Iioihe sharp cut below. Firmly, ny, proudly,
: libe Oak stood. seemingly conscious thai Ma
lure had marked out for lis own sccomgpoda-
1 Ition one OF the most enchen!ing retreats in
1.-The STATE, and that destiny had accorded 10 it
!. "a notable and everlasting historic psge,iotbe
Isiory OF Conneciicui--one. of the patriotic and
Y original thirteen States Of the Union. 4
4 Proudly ii had stood, and when tottering
with sge aud reduced 10 afnere she'll or d few
a inches, by the steady sinroads OF Time itself,
\ il still cnng with fondpess 10 the loved spot
!, on which II had witnessed The decay and down
i fail OF many OF its essociaies- path andtbe
Z bloody wars cf the red man. and dlheted mans
!. decay-ihe birth aid death Of generations oI
s he white man, whose az had cut away IFS
Y ftowefing comrades Of the olden time. Bn,
: Iwhle preserving iair exterior, it was inward
2 ly wasting away, and was oblgedi TO yield and
2 fall in storm far less severe ihan many thou.
: sands that had preceded it. 4E
y Before Governor Wyllys came TO America
The sent bis steward forward TO preptre o place
I for his residence. As he was cutting ava,
y tlhe trees upon the Hill side Of the beauiifu
'-l"Wylly's Place. adenpia;ion came
ylio him and requested that he would spare thi
loId hollow Oak. They declared that il ha,
Z l"been The guide Of their ancestors for ceniu
y lres," II was spared, 10 fall THU, day, havin,
y final lly yielded 10 The process Of natural decay
~ The tree measured thifiy-three feet in cir
lcumftrence at The bottom, and il has broker
y of so as 10 leave eight feet Of stnmp on on
70 side and six feet on the other--the stnml
. measuring twenty one feet in circumferenc
lat lis lop..f as'5