Moses Cleaveland Trees

Thanks to Julie (facebook friend), she informed me of this tree estimated to be 320 years. The Lakewood section of the peedee has, "The white oak was first officially recognized in 1946 when the Western Reserve Historical Society [sic]* certified 216 [sic]† Cuyahoga County trees as Moses Cleaveland Trees." So, i had to get a picture. When they laid the sidewalk, it was curved around it, and some sandstone sections are still there. A smaller swamp white oak tree is the remaining Moses' tree in the city.

I think, i remember a town (in another country) gathering around an ancient tree that was about to be felled, to say good-bye. Perhaps, in Lakewood Ohio it is possible; not so much in say, Lakewood Texas.

The MOSES CLEAVELAND TREES were chosen from throughout Cuyahoga County in 1946 as part of the sesquicentennial of Moses Cleaveland and his party's landing at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on 22 July 1796. Each tree was of such an age as to have been part of the area's forests at the time of the landing. The Cleveland Sesquicentennial Commission appointed the Committee on Moses Cleaveland Trees, whose objective was the discovery and labeling of 150 native trees over the age of 150 years growing in the county. Chair of the committee was ARTHUR B. WILLIAMS, curator of education at the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. The committee received nominations for 242 large trees. Measurements of the trees' diameters were taken at a 4' height, and the trees were critically judged as to the probability of their being 150 years or older. The desirability of each tree's location was also taken into account, as the committee sought to select trees located in places where they could be easily seen and appreciated by the public. Local ceremonies accompanied the labeling of many trees. Each tree bore a 5" x 10" aluminum label which read: "This is a Moses Cleaveland Tree. It was standing here as part of the original forest when Moses Cleaveland landed at the Mouth of the Cuyahoga River, July 22, 1796. Let us preserve it as a living memorial to the first settlers of the Western Reserve." --Williams, Arthur. Final Report of the Sesquicentennial Commission's Committee on Moses Cleaveland Trees (1946).

Early Settlers Association of the Western Reserve in 1971 was interested to see how many were still there. Ninety-two trees survived, fifteen with labels.

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*peedee says, "Western Reserve Historical Society", report says, "Committee on Moses Cleaveland Trees".

†peedee says, "216 trees", 1946 report says, "150".

216 = area code. 150 = sesquicentennial number.