Peekskill loses an old friend
Historic ‘hanging tree’ succumbs to lightning

 

Majestic oak tree outside the Peekskill Military Academy met its end last week after at least 300 years.

Story and photo by Danny Lopriore
Peekskill's "hanging tree," one of the city's longest surviving arboreal residents, died last week after a short illness precipitated by a direct lightning strike on June 1.

"The Old Oak," whose age has been estimated at between 300 and 400 years old by historians and arborists, could not withstand the recent bolt that separated a large area of bark from the tree and left its leaves discolored and limp.

With its roots buried in historical Peekskill, older than the nation itself, the great white oak bravely guarded the front entrance of Peekskill High School in recent years and is a memorial to fallen soldiers.

The mighty oak's grizzled bark, outstretched limbs and leafy shroud were evidently damaged beyond repair.

Despite the efforts of tree experts, the school district, the city and Peekskill Military Academy alumni, the "hanging tree" is a victim of Mother Nature's fatal force.

Planted on ground that was the campus of the Peekskill Military Academy from 1833 to 1968, the tree is memorialized as the site where an American Tory and traitor was hanged after being employed as a British spy. Continental Army troops camping on the site where the tree stands observed Daniel Strang in the area making notes of troop movements for British forces. Strang was summarily tried and hung on the spot.

According to historical accounts provided by the Peekskill Museum, "American Generals Pomeroy and McDougall watched from horseback as nearly 1,000 patriot soldiers paraded around the hanged victim during a long solemn sermon on that cold winter day."

A plaque commemorating Strang's fate, now embedded and partially covered by generations of the tree's expanding bark, misstates the year of the hanging as 1776 instead of 1777 and reads:

"This tablet has been placed here by the Cornelia Beekman Chapter, Junior Sons and Daughters of the Revolution, June 6, 1912 in honor of this tree upon which was hanged Jan. 27, 1776 an American who was employed as a spy by the British."

Lorman Augustowski, president of the Peekskill Military Academy Alumni Association, confirmed the demise of the tree that was once the living centerpiece of his alma mater.

"We consulted with four different arborists and each one told us the tree could not be saved," Augustowski said. "It could not stand the force of the strike."

According to the alumni group, the founders of the academy chose the site, known as Oak Hill, partially because of the great oak tree.

"The area was flat and the tree was already more than 200 years old -- a landmark of sorts," Augustowski said. "The health of the tree had deteriorated since the academy closed in 1968 and the high school was built. It's probably more fitting that it went out the way it did - in a blaze of glory -- instead of just dying away."

Augustowski said he had recently employed arborists to determine the health of the tree and what might be done to stabilize it.

"We were considering ways to preserve the tree and maintain its health when the lightning struck," he said. "Now we're trying to decide how to preserve the site."

The school district and concerned citizens groups are considering several options, including planting another oak, preserving the memorial site with a new memorial and the historical plaque or converting the site into a garden of some kind.

The PMA alumni are also consulting with the Cornell Cooperative Extension about the possible cloning of the tree to regenerate another oak.

"We'd love to be able to preserve the genetics of the tree if there is any life remaining," Augustowski said. "We have to do something quickly, though.
The tree has already deteriorated so much."

Some more superstitious residents believe the bolt of lightning may have been Strang's long-awaited act of revenge on his place of execution, while others just see it as fate.

"Lightning strikes have hit homes in the area before, causing fires," Peekskill City Historian John Curran said. "Why this tree was hit at this time? We don't know, but it's certainly an infamous place."

Peekskill Mayor John Testa was saddened about the death of what he termed "an old friend."

The mayor's family lived adjacent to the campus of the military academy and his father was employed at the school where the tree first became a part of his life.

"I was sad, very sad, when I heard that the tree could not be saved," Testa said. "My brother graduated from the academy and I grew up a half a block away. I always had aspirations about going to the school but it closed before I could attend. The tree, obviously, was a big part of that experience. We would try to memorize the plaque that was almost hidden in the trunk."

Testa also remembered the tree was sort of a gathering place for kids trying to get a peek at the New York Jets football players who congregated near the tree when the team held summer practices on the site in the early 1960s before the high school was built in the early 1970s.

Testa, who has been on the high school faculty for 26 years, continued his relationship with the oak.

"Walking by the tree every day, you'd see less and less branches and fewer and fewer leaves," Testa said. "We knew it was not as strong as it used to be, but it's sad that it's gone. I hope we can do something to remember it."

Linda Haight, a lifelong Peekskill resident who lives fewer than 100 yards away from the high school campus and first "met" the oak as a child playing in the Oak Hill neighborhood, shook her head and waxed nostalgic when she heard the news about the tree's demise.

"I've lived in Peekskill all of my 52 years," Haight said. "I heard the storm that night and there was a lot of lightning. I guess the old tree couldn't handle it. There are so many wonderful things about Peekskill that have disappeared over the years and this is just one more."

Haight said she remembered many carefree days when she and her friends would wander through Peekskill playing games and enjoying life.

"There was a time when we could go out and play all day and no one would worry," Haight said. "We'd go up to the (academy campus) and sit under the tree on summer nights. Peekskill won't be the same without it."

The Old Oak is survived by an unknown number of local oak trees that may have grown from acorns yielded by the oak and dispersed by squirrels over three centuries of autumns.

Viewing will continue at Peekskill High School until the tree is removed. No funeral will be held, but there are plans to save a bulk of the timber from which memorial souvenirs of some kind will be created. A memorial is being planned.

In lieu of flowers, the Peekskill Military Academy Alumni Association, City of Peekskill and the Peekskill School District request that residents and friends either plant a tree or tenderly care for their own.