Charter Oak's Great-Grandson

Coventry, CT

(Wear orange blaze from Sept. ~ February. Or go on Sunday when there should
not be hunters)

Hidden by Irish Tinker

Sept. 22, 2002

Difficutly - 15 minutes round trip

The story of the CT Charter is one of the most intriguing pieces of CT
history. On October 9, 1662 (340 years to when this box was planted) the
General Court of Connecticut won the charter from King Charles II, thanks to
the diplomacy of Governor John Winthrop, Jr. Twenty-five years later, Sir
Edmund Andros, his Majesty's agent, arrived in Hartford with an armed force
to seize the Charter.

Picture it, a candlit room with the charter laid out in the center of a
table. For hours there is debate and raised voices when suddenly the room
goes dark! When the lanterns are relit the charter has vanished!!

Capt' Joseph Wadsworth is credited with having removed and hiding the
Charter in the majestic oak on the Wylly's estate. The mighty oak fell
during a great storm on August 21, 1856. People collected souvenirs of
acorns and bark. The oak tree we are in hunt of today is said to be an
actual descendent of the original Charter Oak Tree that once protected our
State Charter.