1925, Treaty Oak, Famous Texas Tree, May Die

A reminder that sometimes things we take for granted as safe from development, aren't. A couple of articles from the Red River County Review, Clarksville, TX, May and August 1925

May 1925, Treaty Oak, Famous Texas Tree, May Die. Treaty oak, one of the most famous trees in Texas history, will soon be destroyed, unless the city or some historical organization will pay for the upkeep of the lots occupied by the trees Mrs. Walter H. Caldwell, owner said yesterday .. Stephen F. Austin in the first days of this city signed a treaty with an Indian tribe under the shade of the trees. Under the treaty no Indians should come nearer the settlement than the tree and no white man should go beyond the tree into Indian territory. [Later] .. the tree and the land it occupies became private property as the city grew until Mrs. Caldwell bought the lots 45 years ago. She has paid taxes on them since, without gaining any return from her property, for the tree, with its breadth, practically covers the frontage of two lots and prevents selling them for building purposes, Mrs. Caldwell said.

August 1925, Cannot Texas Save Treaty Oak at Austin? It will be a shame for Texas, the largest and one of the richest states in the union to let that old oak be felled .. For 500 years .. Treaty Oak has stood near the banks of the Colorado River and played a romantic part in the lives of the Indians and in the history of Texas. But now the life of this tree, whose giant limbs shade a quarter of an acre and spread out 120 feet, is threatened. Unless the city or some historical association sees fit to pay for it's upkeep, it may soon be destroyed. For forty-five years Mrs. Walter H. Caldwell, of West Austin has owned and loved Treaty Oak. During this time she has paid taxes on the two lots it occupies without gaining any return, and because it has meant to much to her, she has hesitated to have the tree cut down.

When Stephen F. Austin, carrying out the wishes of his father, established the little colony on the river banks, one of the first things he did was to make peace with the red men. Under the giant oak, more than a century ago, he signed a treaty with the Comanche Indians, which later gave the tree its name ..

( Retrieved from the Portal to Texas History )