Commemorative Oak Planting
July 18 @ 10:00 am - 10:30 am
Saturday, July 18, 2026
10:00 am
Charles De Wolf Brownell, Charter Oak, 1857, oil on canvas – Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
We will be planting an oak tree to commemorate America250 and the role the Charter Oak played in our history, as well as the role oaks play in nature. Come for the blessing and planting of our commemorative oak tree! All are welcome.
With the recent birthday of the U.S.A., our American history has been looked at considerably. Connecticut’s own history predates that of the U.S., and involves a white oak tree, more famously referred to as the Charter Oak. It begins in 1662 when a royal charter was given to Connecticut by King Charles II, allowing the colony self-governance. When James II ascended the throne twenty-five years later, he revoked the charter in an effort to create the Dominion of New England. The king sent Sir Edmond Andros with armed forces to revoke the charter in 1687. There was debate between Andros and Governor Robert Treat over the charter. As the story goes, and this is where there is no official documentation, the debate went on for several hours when suddenly all of the candles went out. Once they were relit, the charter that had been sitting on the table between the men was gone. Captain Joseph Wadworth is credited with stealing the charter and stashing it in a large hollow of a white oak tree on the nearby Wyllys estate. While Andros was unsuccessful at obtaining the charter, Connecticut was forced into the Dominion of New England anyway. When William and Mary ascended the throne in 1689, they restored many of the freedoms of the charter, which served as the state’s constitution until 1818. The “Charter Oak” fell in a lightning storm on August 21, 1856. A funeral and other remembrances were held for the tree, which was said to be 500 years old and 21 feet in circumference. The wood from the tree was used for many things, including the Charter Oak Chair that sits in the state’s Senate Chamber. Because of the role of the Charter Oak, the white oak is Connecticut’s state tree.
Ecologically, oaks are one of the most important trees a property can have. The many varieties of oaks found across North America support more life forms than any other genus of tree on the continent. The white oak alone is the host for over 100 moth and butterfly species. Their canopies are open enough to allow sunlight and water to reach the ground and are the nesting sites for the cerulean warbler. The acorns they produce are an important food source for deer and turkeys, among other animals. Every few years, oaks of different species across great distances coordinate to produce a mast event. When trees have a mast event, they produce a huge number of seeds (for oaks this means acorns). It is unknown why trees do this, but animal populations boom as a result. Our region has several types of native oaks beyond the white oak (Quercus alba), including the swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor), scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), the scrub oak (Quercus ilicifolia), and the northern red oak (Quercus rubra).
In celebration of America’s 250th birthday, and in remembrance of the role the white oak has played in our own history, we will be planting and blessing a commemorative white oak on The Meetinghouse campus on Saturday, July 18th at 10:00. Come join us for the celebration of both history and nature!
Sources used for this:
https://www.bbg.org/article/the_mysteries_of_masting_in_trees https://ctforestry-cahnr.media.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3131/2023/10/OakNotes_v2.pdf https://connecticuthistory.org/the-legend-of-the-charter-oak/ https://portal.ct.gov/About/State-Symbols/The-State-Tree
