Silverton Murals-Old Oak Tree

Getting a picture of this beautiful mural with out cars in the shot, is impossible.  It is on main street, in the parking lot of a very popular restaurant the Town House.  They open very early for breakfast, so I did the best I could to give you a decent picture.

This gorgeous mural was painted by Lori Lee Webb.  It is titled Old Oak Tree.

The oak tree was written about in one of Homer Davenport's books, The Country Boy.

In the early days of Silverton, wagons had a natural roundabout on the street.  The center, a beautiful huge oak.  This oak according to Davenport, was a meeting place.  Even before it became the centerpiece in town, native Americans, "Indians" as Davenport called them, convened under the tree for council. 

It stood in the middle of main street and eventually became inconvenient.  The towns people chopped it down and divided its limbs amongst themselves.

The trunk is enshrined in a near by park.  I did not realize the connection until I did research and as soon as the weather clears up, I will be taking a picture of the trunk and posting it.

On the side of the mural is the words taken from Davenports, The Country Boy.

It is sad when in the name of progress, something irreplaceable like the old oak is destroyed.  But I am proud that my quirky little town found away to honor it forever.  The trunk enshrined in the park, and the beautiful mural to remember it.