Avery Oak facts for kids
The Avery Oak was a giant white oak tree that lived for hundreds of years in Dedham, Massachusetts. It was a very old and famous tree, known for its huge size. The tree was named after Jonathan Avery, who owned the land where it grew. The Avery family was one of the first families to settle in Dedham, arriving way back in 1650. This amazing tree had a trunk that was over 20 ft (6 m) around! It stood on East Street, not far from the historic Fairbanks House.
The Avery Oak was already quite old when the first settlers came to Dedham in 1635. In 1886, a man named J.W. Clark, who owned the house near the tree, gave the tree and a small piece of land around it to the Dedham Historical Society. This meant the society would protect the tree. The special agreement even allowed the tree's roots and branches to spread out over Clark's land.
Even though the tree is no longer standing, its legacy continues. Wood from the Avery Oak is used to make the gavels (small hammers) for the chairman of the Board of Selectmen and the Town Meeting Moderator in Dedham. A special chair was also made from the tree's timber for the Historical Society. The tree's image is also part of the official seal adopted by the Town of Dedham in 1878, and it's on the seal of the Dedham-Westwood Water District.
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A Tree's Tough Times
The Avery Oak was incredibly strong and survived many challenges over the years.
Surviving Harsh Winters
In the very cold winter of 1723, there was so much snow that people couldn't get to their usual wood to burn for heat. An early member of the Avery family had to chop off the top of the tree to keep his family from freezing. By the 1790s, the Avery Oak's thick, twisted branches spread out more than 90 feet, and its trunk was five feet wide.
The Great Hurricane of 1938
The tree even survived the powerful New England Hurricane of 1938. This huge storm knocked down over 450 other trees just on public land! The Avery Oak was struck by lightning during the hurricane, and one of its top branches broke off, but the main tree remained standing.
The Final Storm
The Avery Oak finally fell in late July 1972, during a very strong thunderstorm. The police chief at the time, Walter Carroll, was driving down East Street when the tree toppled. It almost hit his car! Hundreds of people gathered to see the fallen giant. The police protected the tree while the Historical Society made plans for what to do with its wood. Experts estimated the tree was over 450 years old when it fell.
The Avery Oak and a Famous Ship
There's a local legend about the Avery Oak and a very famous ship: the USS Constitution.
A Ship's Special Wood
Samuel Nicholson, the first captain of the USS Constitution, lived in Dedham when the ship was being built. The Avery Oak had many branches with natural bends and curves. These curved pieces of wood, sometimes called "knee timber," were very important for building strong ships. The tree's huge trunk would also have provided a lot of straight wood for the ship's sides.
The designer of the USS Constitution, Joshua Humphreys, specifically asked for white oak for the ship's hull (the main body). Shipbuilders searched all over, from New Jersey to Maine, to find old, tall trees with straight trunks for long planks. They also needed trees with natural bends for the hundreds of curved supports needed inside the ship.
The Tree That Was Not Sold
The shipbuilders, probably including Captain Nicholson, made several offers to buy the Avery Oak. They even offered "the unheard of price of $70," which was a lot of money back then! But the owner of the tree would not sell it. Local stories say it was actually Avery's wife who insisted on saving the tree, making sure it wasn't cut down for the ship.
