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List of hanging trees

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The Hanging Tree in Vulture City, Arizona.

In the United States, a hanging tree or hangman's tree is any tree used to perform executions by hanging.

Hanging trees by state

Arizona
  • Vulture City Hanging Tree: Ironwood tree located in the ghost town of Vulture City, Arizona, next to the remains of Henry Wickenburg's stone cabin built circa 1863. Eighteen men were hanged from this tree in the late 19th century for "high grading" (stealing gold ore).[2]
California
  • Jackson Hanging Tree: Live oak tree that once stood at 26 Main in Jackson, California, before being cut down following 1862 Jackson fire. Ten men were lynched from this tree between 1851 and 1855. A historical marker now marks its original location.[4]
Colorado
  • The Hangin' Tree: Located in Montrose, Colorado, and used in the 1878 hanging of George Bikford, who was accused of robbery and horse theft. The tree, now dead, has been preserved and a historical marker has been placed at its location.[6]
  • Pueblo Hanging Tree: Formerly located on Union Avenue in Pueblo, Colorado. Felled June 25, 1883.[7]
Georgia
Kansas
Montana
  • Hangman's Tree: Ponderosa pine tree once located in Helena, Montana. Ten men were lynched from this tree between 1865 and 1870 by the Helena Vigilantes. Felled by landowner, Methodist Minister W. M. Shippen, in 1875. Two pieces of the tree now reside in the collection of the Montana Historical Society in Helena.[10]
  • Jefferson County Hanging Tree: Ponderosa pine tree allegedly used for hangings in the territorial period of the state's history. Located near Clancy, in Jefferson County, Montana.[11]
New Mexico
New York
Oklahoma
Oregon
  • Dallas Hanging Tree: Oak tree used in the 1887 lynching of Oscar Kelty, who murdered his wife, and as recently as 1900 for legal hangings as Polk County, Oregon's official gallows. Located near the Polk County Courthouse in Dallas, Oregon.[16]
  • Lafayette Hanging Tree: First used in 1863 and finally in 1887, when convicted murderer Richard Marple was hanged in what became known as the "The Lafayette Gypsy Curse" incident. Formerly located on private property in Lafayette, Oregon; cut down by property owners in the 1940s.[17][18]
South Carolina
Texas
  • Brazoria Hanging Tree: Located in Brazoria, Texas. The tree from which two slaves were unjustly hanged. Now rumored to be haunted.[21]
  • Centerville Hanging Tree: Formerly located in front of the courthouse in Centerville, Texas. Used to hang two outlaws shortly after the end of the American Civil War and later in 1915 to hang a black man accused of murdering Centerville resident Jim Sinclair.[22]
  • Columbus Hanging Tree: Live oak located in Columbus, Texas. Two young black men named Bennie Mitchell, Jr. and Ernest Collins were lynched from this tree in 1935, after being accused of raping a young white woman named Geraldine Kollman. The tree still stands on the outskirts of Columbus, Texas, not far from where there crime occurred.[24][25][26]
  • Goliad Hanging Tree: Large oak tree in Goliad, Texas. For 24 years the Goliad County court was held under this tree. Many hangings were performed here, including several during the 1857 Cart War between American and Mexican settlers.[27]
  • Hallettsville Hanging Tree: Live oak tree located in the Hallettsville, Texas, city park. Used for the September 12, 1879, execution of a native American man known as "Pocket", who was found guilty of murdering an Englishman named Leonard Hyde in 1878.[28]
  • Hanging Oak: 400-year-old live oak tree in Houston, Texas. Said to have been used to hang eleven individuals between 1836 and 1845 and now preserved by the City of Houston Civic Center Department.[29]
  • Hangman's Oak: Oak tree, also known as the "Tragedy Tree". Presumed site of the July 25, 1863, hanging of seven German immigrants by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Located on the Hanging Tree Ranch south of Bandera, Texas.[30][31]
  • Kyle Hanging Tree: Oak tree in Kyle, Texas. According to local lore, in the 1840s a group of cowboys stumbled across this tree and found a dead man hanging from it. The cowboys cut the man down and buried him at the base of the tree. Later the Kyle Cemetery formed up around the tree.[32]
  • Orange Hanging Tree: Pin oak tree once located on Main Street in Orange, Texas. In use between the 1840s and 1880s. Cut down in 1892.[33]
  • Page's Tree: Used in the 1837 execution of a murderer named Page and two others. Located in the Clarksville, Texas, pioneer cemetery.[34]

Gallery

  • The lynching of murderer James Daniels from the Hangman's Tree in Helena, Montana, in 1866.
    The lynching of murderer James Daniels from the Hangman's Tree in Helena, Montana, in 1866.
  • The Hanging Tree in Pueblo, Colorado, c.1880.
    The Hanging Tree in Pueblo, Colorado, c.1880.
  • The lynching of a man from the Hanging Tree in Orange, Texas, in 1888.
    The lynching of a man from the Hanging Tree in Orange, Texas, in 1888.
  • Hangman's Tree in Dodge City, Kansas.
    Hangman's Tree in Dodge City, Kansas.
  • Hangman's Elm in Manhattan's Washington Square Park.
    Hangman's Elm in Manhattan's Washington Square Park.

See also

References

  1. ^ Pfeifer, Michael J. (2013). Lynching Beyond Dixie: American Mob Violence Outside the South. University of Illinois Press. p. 125-127. ISBN 9780252094651.
  2. ^ "Vulture Mine Ghost Town Near Wickenburg Arizona". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  3. ^ "Hangmans Tree - Gold Fever Trail - Big Bear California". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  4. ^ "Jackson Hanging Tree- Amador COunty, California". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  5. ^ "Hanging tree still stands at old mine". Scott Herhold. 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  6. ^ "String Um Up Boys...The Hanging Tree Montrose CO Things to See". Debbie Laity. 2015-01-24. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  7. ^ "Three One Three Gallery: Union Ave. Hanging Tree in Pueblo, Colorado c. 1880". Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  8. ^ "Columbia Square & The Legendary "Hanging Tree" - Savannah, GA". 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  9. ^ "Cemetery of the Week #95: Dodge City's Boot Hill". Loren Rhoads. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  10. ^ "Hanging Tree - Helena, Montana". Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  11. ^ "Hanging tree in Jeffco 02". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  12. ^ "Chloride New Mexico". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  13. ^ "Hangman's Elm in Washington Square Park". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  14. ^ "The Hanging Tree, A Haunted Spot Not For the Faint of Heart". Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  15. ^ "Dubious history marks bur oak tree in Tulsa". Penny Owen. 2002-03-24. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  16. ^ Friedman, Ralph (1990). In Search of Western Oregon. Caxton Press. p. 179-180. ISBN 9780870043321.
  17. ^ "Was there really a hanging tree in Lafayette?". Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  18. ^ "An ax murder, a hanging, and a "curse" in Lafayette". Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  19. ^ "Hanging Tree, Salem Oregon". Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  20. ^ "The Story of Charleston's Hanging Tree". Prof. Damon L. Fordham, MA. 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  21. ^ Lulu.com (2008). The Ultimate Urban Legends. Pinkmint Publications. p. 55-56. ISBN 9780955686900.
  22. ^ "The Hanging Tree". Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  23. ^ "Coldspring Hanging Tree". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  24. ^ "Columbus Hanging Tree". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  25. ^ "Justice and Injustice adminstered at hanging trees". Henry Wolff Jr. 2003-03-09. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  26. ^ "Columbus, Texas: The Handbook of Texas Online". Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  27. ^ "Famous Hanging Tree, Goliad, Texas". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  28. ^ "Hallettsville Hanging Tree". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  29. ^ "The Hanging Oaks of Houston". John Nova Lomax. 2009-07-17. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  30. ^ "Civil War atrocity forgotten by Texas history". Zeke McCormack. 2013-06-21. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  31. ^ "Hangman's Oak". Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  32. ^ "Kyle Hanging Tree". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  33. ^ "The 'Hanging Tree' of Orange, Texas: Cross-Cut Saw Thwarted Judge Lynch". W. T. Block. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  34. ^ "Clarksville, Texas". Retrieved 2016-07-20.
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