Newport RI - Liberty Tree
Posted by: 
trainlove
N 41° 29.617 W 071° 18.926
19T E 306722 N 4596144
Almost 240 years ago William Read donated a small triangular plot of land at Thames and Farewell streets to William Ellery and other Sons of Liberty, shortly after the successful struggle to force the British Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act.
Waymark Code: WM851X
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 01/30/2010
Views: 12
Sometime in 1765, the Sons of Liberty began rallying at the tree to protest the hated Stamp Act that the colonists believed was unjust taxation and the latest case of oppression by Parliament. Andrews said the nearby Common Burying Ground was a backdrop for mock funerals the protesters held for "Liberty." The group also hung in effigy people who defended the British policies.
The Liberty Tree remained a gathering point during the decade leading up to the Revolutionary War, Andrews said. The local tree became such an icon for the independence movement that Gen. Thomas Gage ordered it be cut down some time after the British occupied Newport in December 1776, Andrews said.
In celebration of victory in war, the departure of the British and the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Newport residents planted an oak tree at the site in 1783 that became the second Liberty Tree. It flourished until the early 1860s, as documented by paintings and illustrations. Andrews said a new oak tree was planted at the site in 1876, but died just 21 years later.
The present leaf beech tree at the site, the fourth Liberty Tree, was planted in 1897. The tree was rededicated in 1919, when Henrietta C. Ellery deeded the property and the tree to the city. It is now William Ellery Park, a small "pocket park."
From the Newport Daily News, April 29, 2006.
Historic Event:
rallying point of defiance
Year: 1700
Species: Maple
Approximate Age: 300
Location: Newport, Rhode Island
Website: Not listed
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