175yr bent white oak with metal handle sticking out.

jonordy

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Aug 18, 2010
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There is an old white oak whose days are numbered that may be a tree marker with a metal object driven into it. I'm documenting what I can before it comes down. I have taken pictures but it's impossible to make out the metal object as it's so high up. I'm going to stick my iphone to a pole and see if I can get a video closeup of the object at some point. I've sketched out the layout for future reference but I don't really know what I should be looking for.

My first question is, would it be reasonable to find a metal knife or some type of marker 20ft up in a tree.

This white oak I've known about for some time that appears to be a bent tree but I just recently noticed that it has a rusted metal object(looks like handle) sticking out of it about 20 ft up. The tree is about 170 yrs old, maybe older. The south side of the tree has absolutely no branches nor any stubs of branches but has a long indented line going up the length of the tree like somebody sliced it with a knife long ago. The north side of the tree has it's oldest branch drooping straight down and circles straight up and then the rest of the branches were pulled together to be on the northern side side of the tree. It looks like a knot of branches on the northern side and a few of the oldest branches were forced to grow straight through each other. It's almost like somebody pulled the branches to one side of the tree so that during the spring it would hide the metal object from sticking out.

I've found a good amount of non magnetic smelting slag nearby. There is another oak(possible trail marker tree) almost 70ft away to the southwest with it's largest branch pointing directly away before it right angles straight up from this metal object tree. The tree with the metal was in a group of oaks lined up straight north to south and were about equally spaced white oak trees of the same age. The other surviving trees have no markings. There are piles of stones that look like they were used in an old house or furnace but have been recently moved to new piles. Some rocks were obviously carved shapes but have been moved to new piles and were probably part of the structure whatever that was. I have no idea what the stones were for as there has been no records of structures being on this property for 130 years but supposedly there was an native american trading post nearby well before colonial days.

I've found rusted short pieces of wire underground nearby that were very hard to bend for how thin they were. If you were to metal detect somewhere, do I go in the direction the metal is pointing or the direction of the large bent branch. There are not many trees left in the immediate area but there are a few older oaks(not white oaks but older than 175yrs+++) within 100 ft of this metal object
 

jonordy

Welcome to the forum.
It is reasonable for a marker to be 20 ft. up a tree, but is usually eye level. (either on foot or on horseback)
Determine if the long indented line was man made or caused by lightning.
Are the limbs on the north side of the tree grafted in a way leaving a hole for you to look through?
When you say the other tree is almost 70ft away, does it happen to be 66ft.?
Some of the rocks being moved recently probably means you are looking for what someone else missed.
I would metal detect in both directions....perhaps where the lines cross?
Good Luck.
Oddrock
 

There's a big oak tree in the parking lot at the YMCA where I used to go to,and it has about 4 railroad spikes in its trunk.Their only sticking out about 2 inches,just enough to climb up the tree for looking or possibly shooting at deer? :dontknow:
BTW the tree is still alive.
 

jonordy said:
The south side of the tree has absolutely no branches nor any stubs of branches but has a long indented line going up the length of the tree like somebody sliced it with a knife long ago.

That is a part of the bending. It wasn't split with a knife, but rather split of its own from the bending . . . If it is a true "trail marker tree" you need to remember that this was much like Bonsai in that the restriction of the tree by whatever method will affect its size. I have seen a tree that predates the founding of the United States that was comparatively quite small in circumference, but there is a method to date a tree.

Forget the measurements that folks will tell you are supposed to date the tree. Only coring the tree will tell you its actual age.

Removal of branches, binding of branches, tying the tree to the ground or otherwise making it bend all restrict the tree's development.
 

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