Hangin Oak

[jtcarm]

This is from my hometown magazine published by the Chamber of Commerce.

I'd taken my kids to see it many times. Somewhere I have a picture of myself in front of it from the early 90s with my arms spread showing how massive it is.

I always thought the "hangin oak" story to be a (sub)urban myth. And it may well be.

What caught my attention (and I'm sure that of other western fans of a certain age) was the name of the doomed outlaw. It's that of Jimmy Stewart's nemesis in "Winchester 73".

I've noticed through the years that the old westerns often contained snippets of little-known real-world characters or events, but not in their original context.

Since authenticity was at best an afterthought to directors & screen writers of the era, I think a lot of the source of these kernels of reality were the cast & crews themselves. Many, if not most of the stuntmen & extras, and some supporting actors in early westerns, had been working cowboys before coming to Hollywood. Some probably even had first-hand accounts.

Of course, there's always the possibility some smart-*** at the Chamber of Commerce thought it would be a funny trick to play on some old fart[emoji2955]

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

That tree ain't big enough to be a hanging tree back in the 19th century. In fact, judging by the size I would think it was but an acorn back in 1884

 

[yaktamer]

That tree ain't big enough to be a hanging tree back in the 19th century. In fact, judging by the size I would think it was but an acorn back in 1884

Although people were shorter back then.

 

[jtcarm]

That tree ain't big enough to be a hanging tree back in the 19th century. In fact, judging by the size I would think it was but an acorn back in 1884

A burr oak living today could easily have been 100 years old in 1884.

I can also say, first-hand, that picture doesn't begin to do it Justice. In fact, I'm not even sure that's the right tree.

 

[Wrangler Rich]

Is Dutch Heny's last name pronounced "Bernie"?

WR

 

[AKtinman]

Goliad had one, too, and I'm sure there are more scattered around the state:
The Hanging Tree Historical Marker

 

[DWalt]

Some years back, I was working around Sonora TX. I frequently went through a ranch about 25 miles south of Sonora. There was a huge pecan tree there (not many trees are seen in that part of Texas - too dry) where allegedly no small number of rustlers met their maker back in the 19th century before there was much in the way of law and order in that part of the country. There is even a "Wild Bunch" connection with Sonora.

,

 

[jtcarm]

Goliad had one, too, and I'm sure there are more scattered around the state:
The Hanging Tree Historical Marker

If ghosts are real, there must be a bunch in Goliad.

A lot of bad stuff happened there.

 

[Justin T]

Some years back, I was working around Sonora TX. I frequently went through a ranch about 25 miles south of Sonora. There was a huge pecan tree there (not many trees are seen in that part of Texas - too dry) where allegedly no small number of rustlers met their maker back in the 19th century before there was much in the way of law and order in that part of the country. There is even a "Wild Bunch" connection with Sonora.

,

My dad's family was a pioneer family in Sonora. It was common knowledge that the Wild Bunch hung around the area, and there were several ranchers sympathetic to them. One of the Wild Bunch is buried in the Sonora Cemetery.

Their explosives guy, Will "News" Carver, was killed in a bakery in Sonora. My great-grandmother saw the sheriff and another man go into the bakery and heard the shots that killed him-law enforcement was afraid of him.

Make no mistake about it-there was no attempt to arrest or subdue him. Carver was a dead man when they walked in the bakery. They killed him for a murder he did not commit.

To keep this tree-related, in the Texas Hill Country there is a county by the name of Coryell County. Another part of my dad's family was instrumental in its creation, and one was the first sheriff there. They had no jail, so he chained prisoners to a giant live oak near the courthouse. People got a bit mad about that, so he built the first jail there. It still stands, and has double-thick walls.

 

[DWalt]

Indeed, Will Carver (one of the Wild Bunch gang) was killed in 1901 by Sutton County Sheriff "Lige" Bryant. Someone tipped off the Sheriff that Carver was coming into Sonora for supplies prior to going off to rob a bank, so he walked into a trap. Bryant got a reward of $1000 from Wells Fargo. Carver was buried in the Sonora cemetery, and I guess he is still there.

Anyone familiar with that area will know that the 90 mile stretch of Highway 277 going south from Sonora to Del Rio passes through some of the most desolate territory in the country. Sort of like driving across the surface of the moon, but without the craters. Not a good place to have a car breakdown as traffic is usually sparse.

 

[DWalt]

Is Dutch Heny's last name pronounced "Bernie"?

WR

I don't know, but there is a northwest suburb of San Antonio spelled slightly differently (Boerne) which is pronounced as "Bernie." The town was named for a "Ludwig Börne" an early German settler.

 

[Wrangler Rich]

I don't know, but there is a northwest suburb of San Antonio spelled slightly differently (Boerne) which is pronounced as "Bernie." The town was named for a "Ludwig Börne" an early German settler.

I have been there, and knew that, and that is why I asked.

Thanks,
WR