The Treaty Oak is said to be the last of a stand of 14 majestic live oak trees known as the Council Oaks, which had been used as meeting grounds by indigenous Indian tribes for centuries before the arrival of white settlers. In Texas myth, Stephen F. Austin, the "Father of Texas", signed a boundary agreement in the 1830s under its branches with local Comanche Indian tribes.
In 1927 the American Forestry Association recognized it for beauty and longevity.
In 1989, this tree, which had stood for 500 years, was poisoned by a troubled drifter and ex-convict named Paul Cullen. He poured Velpar, a powerful herbicide, around the tree. Once the poisoning became apparent, a massive effort to save the tree and find the vandal ensued. Cullen was identified as the poisoner by friends who told the police he had bragged of doing it.
Austinites were so enraged by this environmental crime that the Travis County District Attorney, who brought felony criminal mischief charges against Cullen, had to agree to a change of venue. Community outrage was so strong in Austin, that there was no way Cullen could get a fair trial. Tried and found guilty by a jury in Houston, Cullen was sentenced to 9 years in prison, but was paroled after three years. He died in 2001, and is buried next to his parents in Ohio.
See this article from 1989 that appeared in the LA Times: (
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Treaty Oak struggled, but survived. Nearly 60% of it was cut away in a desperate effort to save that was left. It looked hopeless, and arborists told the community that it was just a matter of time before the tree died. But in 1997, Treaty Oak produced the first crop of acorns since the poisoning. Today (2015) Treaty Oak is a survivor, diminished, but still standing strong.
From the University of Texas: (
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"The Story of Treaty Oak
Estimated to be over 500 years old, the large oak tree standing on a busy urban street corner is a local symbol of Texas history, and a international symbol of resilience. It is the last of fourteen Live Oak trees once known to Comanche and Tonkowa Indians as the Council Oaks where both peace and war parties were initiated. Religious ceremonies were held where a tea was made from it's acorns in hopes of protecting loved ones far from home. Legend also tells that Stephen Austin himself signed the first treaty between the Anglos and the Indians beneath the shade of this tree in 1824, thus the tree's name, Treaty Oak.
The majestic tree's wide canopy stretched 127 feet in diameter and bore witness to countless naps, picnics, feasts, proposals, marriages, and religious and educational services. Sam Houston is even said to have rested beneath it's limbs after his expulsion from the governor's office at the dawn of the civil war. In 1922, the American Forestry Association named the Treaty Oak as the most perfect specimen of any living tree in the country; it's picture hangs in their hall of fame in Washington, D.C. In 1937, in an effort to protect the land and tree from development, the city of Austin bought the land and turned it into a park.
In 1989, calls began to come in to the city forester that brown spots were appearing beneath the tree and that some of it's leaves were beginning to fall off. First thought to be diseased, lab results soon showed that the tree had been exposed to a poison called Velpar in an amount capable of killing 100 trees! Experts from all over the state lent their hands to save the tree. Newspapers and media outlets worldwide covered the story of "who would poison a tree?" Billionaire Ross Perot helped fund the rescue and DuPont, the company which produces Velpar, staked a $10,000 reward for the capture of the poisoner. Flowers, candles, crystals, and get-well cards were piled at the foot of the tree and psychics measured and shared it's energy.
Miraculously, the tree survived, though it lost much of its original grandeur. Treaty Oak has weathered hurricanes, sweltering heat, droughts, threat of urban expansion, floods, and a staggering dose of poison -- yet it endures. In 1997, the mighty oak produced it's first acorns since the poisoning. The acorns were collected and germinated, and in 1999, all the baby Treaty Oaks found homes in Texas and other states thus ensuring its continuing legacy. Treaty Oak is a venerable survivor and a heroic example of nature's resilience in the face of the most extreme adversity. Today only about a third of the original tree remains, but it continues to spread its wide limbs and dig its roots deep into the Texas soil, perhaps preparing to stand steadfast for another 500 years."
And from the Austin Chronicle, 25 years later: (
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"25 years later, intrigue of poisoned Treaty Oak remains
May 7, 2015 | Filed in: Treaty Oak poisoning.
The poisoning of Austin’s venerable Treaty Oak by a feed store employee in 1989 still mystifies more than a quarter century later.
On May 11, 1990, Paul Stedman Cullen was sentenced to prison for poisoning the majestic, 600-year-old tree. Jurors could have sentenced Cullen to life in prison — and many Austinites called for it — but instead he served only one-third of a nine-year sentence.
Cullen’s wanton act stirred emotions and drew a national audience as the story unfolded throughout 1989 and 1990. American-Statesman reporters covered the events following the poisoning, from Cullen’s trial to the public outrage to the myriad ways the city attempted to save the ailing tree.
John Giedraitis, who at the time served as arborist for the City of Austin, told Texas Monthly in October 1989 he had first noticed something awry that spring. A patch of dead grass had formed under the tree, but Giedraitis thought a city employee may have sprayed a mild chemical edger on the spot. But a period of heavy rains followed, causing the Velpar to enter the tree and begin a destructive path through its branches and leaves.
With news of the tree’s poisoning, visitors from all over the nation came to visit the Treaty Oak. Well-wishers left small trinkets and gifts. Thousands of letters concerning the tree were mailed from around the world to the City of Austin. Others prepared for the worst, with one man offering to cast the tree in bronze.
A psychic, Sharon Capehart, chose to drive down from Dallas to help save the tree. After transferring energy into the tree, she found that it had a name, Alexandria, and had once lived as a woman in ancient Egypt.
“She had jet-black hair, coal-black, very shiny,” Capehart told Texas Monthly in 1989. “She was feminine but powerful. She had slate-blue eyes and a complexion like ivory.”
Many rightfully wondered why someone would choose to destroy a 600-year-old tree. A witness told jurors that Cullen had poisoned the tree out of frustration in his love for his methadone counselor and his anger toward the state assigning him to plant trees while he was imprisoned for a different crime. The Velpar was spread in the shape of a moon, which led many to believe he was performing an occult ritual.
Cullen maintained his innocence throughout the trial and his imprisonment. In former American-Statesman reporter Bob Banta’s interview with Cullen in September 1990, Cullen maintained his innocence.
“I didn’t poison it, ” Cullen said. “We’re appealing (the case). I think with the pressure brought to bear by the media, they were trying very hard to fit somebody into the role of suspect and defendant.”
Cullen joked that he would open a nightclub, “The Velpar Spot,” after his release from prison.
“Well, it’s humorous. But I’m halfway serious about it,” Cullen said. “If someone would provide financial backing …”
The aftermath of it all is a tree nearly one-third its original size. The oak is surrounded by bushes and overgrowth, as if shielding itself from future attackers.
Cullen would not outlive the Treaty Oak. He died in El Centro, Calif., in 2001 at the age of 57."