Hartford Oak Tree

About the Oak Tree

Hartford is the capital city of Connecticut, known for its historic oak trees that symbolize the state's rich heritage. The city combines New England charm with modern urban development, featuring historic districts and the iconic oak tree that represents Connecticut's nickname as the 'Charter Oak State'.

Hartford's emblematic tree is the Charter Oak, tied to a confrontation in October 1687 when Sir Edmund Andros, royal governor of New England, came to the city to seize Connecticut's 1662 royal charter. According to long-repeated tradition, the candles were extinguished during the meeting and the document was carried off and hidden in the hollow of a large white oak on the Wyllys property; the detail that Captain Joseph Wadsworth hid it there is legendary and not firmly documented. The tree itself fell in a storm on August 21, 1856. It survives as a civic image in Hartford and statewide: the white oak became Connecticut's state tree in 1947, and the Charter Oak appears on the state's 1999 commemorative quarter.