page_title: Avery Oak
hierarchical_section_title: Avery Oak
caption_attribution_description: English: The home of William Avery, and the Avery Oak, in Dedham, Massachusetts.
context_page_description: The Old Avery Oak Tree was a white oak tree that stood in Dedham, Massachusetts until it was knocked down in 1972. It had a circumference of over 20 ft and stood on East Street near the Fairbanks House. It was named for Jonathan Avery, the owner of the tree, who had an estate that was bounded roughly by East Street, Mt. Vernon Street, Barrows Street, and Brookdale Avenue. The Avery family was one of the early settlers of Dedham, arriving in 1650.
  By the time the first settlers arrived in Dedham in 1635, the tree was already quite old. It was owned by the Dedham Historical Society after being donated by J.W. Clark in 1886. Clark, who owned the house where the tree was located, also donated a square of land around it extending seven and a half feet from three sides of it, and to East Street on the fourth. The deed also allowed the roots and branches to grow over and under Clark's land.
  Today, wood from the tree is used in the chairman of the Board of Selectmen's and the Town Meeting Moderator's gavel. Historical Society president Henry Hildreth also commissioned a chair to be built from the timber.
context_section_description: The Old Avery Oak Tree was a white oak tree that stood in Dedham, Massachusetts until it was knocked down in 1972.   It had a circumference of over 20 ft (6 m) and stood on East Street near the Fairbanks House.  It was named for Jonathan Avery, the owner of the tree, who had an estate that was bounded roughly by East Street, Mt. Vernon Street, Barrows Street, and Brookdale Avenue.  The Avery family was one of the early settlers of Dedham, arriving in 1650.
  By the time the first settlers arrived in Dedham in 1635, the tree was already quite old.  It was owned by the Dedham Historical Society after being donated by J.W. Clark in 1886.  Clark, who owned the house where the tree was located, also donated a square of land around it extending seven and a half feet from three sides of it, and to East Street on the fourth.  The deed also allowed the roots and branches to grow over and under Clark's land.
  Today, wood from the tree is used in the chairman of the Board of Selectmen's and the Town Meeting Moderator's gavel.  Historical Society president Henry Hildreth also commissioned a chair to be built from the timber.  The tree also lives on in the seal adopted by the Town in 1878, and that of the Dedham-Westwood Water District.
caption: The home of William Avery, and the Avery Oak.
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