THE HISTORIC TREES OF MASSACHUSETTS 



74 J feet, spread of branches, 100 feet. The 

 roots on the southerly side rise from the 

 ground like an abutment, increasing the 

 circumference at one foot from the ground 

 to 29^ feet. The branches are unusually 

 large, and in a pocket of earth which has 

 collected among them at the top of the 

 trunk, a currant bush has been bearing fruit 

 for sixty years. This fact is vouched for by 

 Mr. William Arnold who worked for William 

 Gibbon, a former owner of the property 

 on which the tree stands, when a boy. 



The tree is historic on account of its con- 

 nection with the old house just behind it, and 

 its age dates back as far, at least, as 1740, 

 when it was much prized by a Tory minister 

 of Marlboro, the Rev. Aaron Smith. "The 

 house was erected by the town for the Rev. 

 Aaron Smith upon his settlement here in 

 1740. At the time of the Revolution, this 

 man was suspected of Tory sentiments, and 

 one night two loaded muskets were fired into 

 his window, probably as a threat or warning 

 by individuals who, actuated by the spirit 

 of the time, gave vent to their detestation 



