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Charter Oak

Charter Oak, white oak tree that until 1856 stood in Hartford, Conn., and was thought to be 1,000 years old. There is a tradition that when Sir Edmund Andros, as governor-general of New England, demanded (1687) that the charter of Connecticut be surrendered by the colonists at Hartford, the document was hidden in a hollow of the tree.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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