Ed., how's the crown look? Though it may be severely hollow, it can possibly
still survive much longer than we're likely to survive- if it has a healthy
crown. The hollowness, in and of itself, is not necessarily an indication of
longevity.
Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: Edward Frank
To: ENTS Google
Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2008 6:48 PM
Subject: [ENTS] The Bible Tree
ENTS,
I spent the morning and afternoon with archaeologists, historians, and
interested members of the local community visiting a series of "Scripture
Rocks" In the area around Brookville, PA. One account of the rocks reads as
follows, "In the early 1900's, 500 rock carvings were cut by Douglas Stahlman,
a Brookville man who believed he had a vision instructing him to carry out that
mission. Stahlman was born in Kirkman, Jefferson County in 1861, graduated
from the Erie Commercial School, and died in Pittsburgh in 1942. Stahlman
removed himself from society and lived among the rocks above Mill Creek. At one
point he conducted church services at a rock he had named appropriately "Alter
Rock". Each rock carries some biblical inscription and was named by Stahlman.
In a journal he cataloged each stone and its approximate location. When he
completed his project, the carvings stretched roughly in an arc around
Brookville from the old Northfork Park north of the town to Tunnel Hill south
of Brookville. - Nicole Park" Ken Burkett, a local archaeologist and others
are organizing a project to document the character and locations of these rocks
located at many known, and likely many unknown sites in the area.
What may be of more interest to a tree group like ENTS is that he also carved
verses into trees in the area. I am given to understand he preferred American
beech trees because of their smooth bark. Of the many tree she carved, one is
know to remain. I had the opportunity to measure and photograph this tree,
known as the Bible Tree today. The tree is in severely hollow, and I do not
believe it will last much longer.
Measurements: Girth 10.3 feet, height 81 feet.
I am guessing the tree may be 150 years old at least, given that the carvings
were done almost 100 years ago, circa 1912, and the tree must have been large
at the time it was carved. More detailed documentation of the tree is one of
the higher priorities of the proposed project as carvings in tree tend to be
more ephemeral than those in stone. The other Bible trees have been lost
already.
Ed Frank
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both. "
Robert Frost (1874-1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.
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