Whispering Oak brought down by storm

EATON — The centuries-old tree which has stood in witness of history at Eaton’s Fort St. Clair fell victim to the harsh winds of the remnants of Hurricane Helene during the storm on Friday, Sept. 27.

Inside Fort St. Clair is a small, fenced enclosure, surrounding the graves of the six men who died in the major battle which occurred at Fort St. Clair on Nov. 6, 1792. (The soldiers buried in the shade of the tree are Lieutenant Job Hale, Sergeant Matthew English, and Privates Robert Bowling, Joseph Clinton, Isaac Jett and John Williams.) A monument to Eaton and the nation’s history, the tree dubbed “The Whispering Oak” stood witness to the battle and overlooked the graves.

Legend has it that when the wind “rustles through the leaves” of the large white oak, “one could hear the story of the events that it witnessed.”

“The Whispering Oak,” was designated a Bicentennial Tree by the National Arborists’ Association and the International Society of Arboriculture in February 1976. On April 13, 1977, the two groups jointly recognized the old Whispering Oak tree as “having lived here during the American Revolutionary Period” alongside the Eaton Current Events Club, which donated the marker for the original Whispering Oak that year.

The plaque designating the Whispering Oak’s status as having witnessed the American Revolutionary period notes, “The International Society of Arboriculture and the National Arborist Association jointly recognize this significant tree in this Bicentennial year as having lived here during the American Revolutionary Period. 1776-1976.”