The Old Avery Oak Tree stood in Dedham

Dedham, Massachusetts

Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 until it was knocked down in the New England Hurricane of 1938

New England Hurricane of 1938

The New England Hurricane of 1938 was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869...

. It predated the town, which was incorporated in 1636. It had a circumference of over 16' and stood on East Street near the Fairbanks House. The builders of the USS Constitution

USS Constitution

USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...

offered $70 to buy the tree, but the owner would not sell.

Today, wood from the tree is used in the Town Meeting

Town meeting

A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....

 Moderator

Moderator (town official)

A moderator is an official of an incorporated town who presides over the town meeting, and in some cases, other municipal meetings. In the United States, the area of the country best known for the town meeting form of government is New England. The office of moderator exists in at least Connecticut...

's gavel.