The Boyington Oak is a historic
Southern live oak
''Quercus virginiana'', also known as the southern live oak, is an evergreen oak tree endemic to the Southeastern United States. Though many other species are loosely called live oak, the southern live oak is particularly iconic of the Old South. ...
in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
.
In a city with many live oaks that are famous for their age and size, the Boyington Oak stands out as a singular example of one famous for the folklore surrounding its origin.
History
The story of the Boyington Oak begins with Charles R.S. Boyington, a young
printer
Printer may refer to:
Technology
* Printer (publishing), a person
* Printer (computing), a hardware device
* Optical printer for motion picture films
People
* Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist
* James Printer (1640 ...
who arrived in Mobile from
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
in 1833. The 1830s were Mobile's years of rapid growth and expansion. Boyington was known to be a frequent gambler, and lived in one of the many boarding houses that dotted the city. On May 11, 1834, Boyington was seen accompanying his friend and roommate Nathaniel Frost, to whom Boyington supposedly owed money, on a walk to
Church Street Graveyard
Church Street Graveyard is a historic city cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama. The cemetery is situated on and is surrounded by a brick wall that dates back to 1830. At the time the cemetery was established, it lay about a half-mile away from ...
on the outskirts of the city. Frost was later found stabbed to death and robbed near the cemetery.
Boyington was the obvious suspect in the murder, but steadfastly professed his innocence even after he was found guilty of the crime. He was executed on February 20, 1835 for the murder of Frost and buried in the northwestern corner of Church Street Graveyard, in the
potter's field
A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been pur ...
section.
Prior to being hanged, Boyington reportedly stated that a mighty oak tree would spring from his heart as proof of his innocence.
An oak tree did eventually grow from the grave. Although the grave and tree were originally inside the brick wall surrounding the cemetery, the wall was moved back from this section shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Today the Boyington Oak stands just outside the cemetery wall, on the edge of Bayou Street.
Folklore
The story of the Boyington Oak has been published numerous times.
The story is featured in
Kathryn Tucker Windham
Kathryn Tucker Windham (née Tucker, June 2, 1918 – June 12, 2011) was an American storyteller, author, photographer, folklorist, and journalist. She was born in Selma, Alabama, and grew up in nearby Thomasville.
Tucker got her first writ ...
's ''Jeffrey's Latest 13: More Alabama Ghosts'', John S. Sledge's ''Cities of Silence'', Nelson and Nelson's ''A History of Church Street Graveyard'', and Pruitt and Higgin's "Crime and Punishment in Antebellum Mobile: The Long Story of Charles R. S. Boyington" in the ''Gulf Coast Historical Review''.
Ghost stories
A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...
about the tree claim that visitors have reported hearing crying and whispering sounds emanating from the vicinity of the tree.
See also
*
Duffie Oak
*
Reportedly haunted locations in Alabama
This is a list of locations in the United States which have been reported to be haunted by ghosts or other supernatural beings, including demons.
States with several haunted locations are listed on separate pages, linked from this page. Many of t ...
*
List of individual trees
The following is a list of individual trees. Trees listed here are regarded as important or specific by their historical, national, locational, natural or mythological context. The list includes actual trees located throughout the world, as we ...
References
{{Mobile, Alabama
Reportedly haunted locations in Mobile, Alabama
Individual oak trees
Tourist attractions in Mobile, Alabama
Individual trees in Alabama