The Manchester Bur Oak tree: A reminder of home

Dave Bishop of Dave's Tree Service uses a chainsaw to cut rings from the Manchester Bur Oak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I arrived at the site of the Manchester Bur Oak tree on Austin Road in Manchester Township Sunday, I was shocked. I could've believe how big the tree was.

I hadn't seen a tree with a trunk that big since I visited the redwoods in California, and that was in 2004. Its size was incredible, and each ring cut by some township residents for preservation and historical purposes, weighed in at several hundred pounds. It was an amazing sight.

These rings were heavy, each weighing several hundred pounds.

Manchester Township resident and trustee Sybil Kolon told me before the tree was cut down, it hadn't been in a single accident, despite being inches from the road, until last year. Of course, it's important to note, the tree was more than 270 years old, dating it to before the American Revolution, and nearly 100 years before Michigan was granted statehood. But it looked like that car crash did the tree in, as burn marks on the bark were visible. Kolon said it was cut down probably sometime in May.

Hearing the story of the Manchester Bur Oak and its demise reminded me of home, which is Royal Oak, north of Detroit. The actual "Royal Oak" was in England, and used by King Charles II in the 1600s to hide from the Scots. Lewis Cass, who became governor of Michigan and made a run at the presidency only to lose, saw a similar tree at what is now the intersection of Main Street, Crooks and Rochester roads, and proclaimed it a "royal oak." Clearly, the name stuck.

But its demise was similar to that of the Manchester Bur Oak. It was hit by a car in the 1980s (I believe) and was damaged and had to be removed. Now, only a plague remains at the site.

It makes me beg the question: What memory will the Manchester Bur Oak have in area residents minds? I know the oak meant a lot to many people, otherwise they wouldn't have fought so hard in the 1980s to keep it standing when the Washtenaw County Road Commission wanted to cut it down.

What memories do you have of the Bur Oak? Leave a comment below, we would love to hear some stories of the majestic tree.