Historic Witness Tree No Longer Stands in Kalkaska County - Northern Michigan's News Leader

Historic Witness Tree No Longer Stands in Kalkaska County

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A witness tree that is believe to be more than 200 years old was cut down yesterday in Rapid River Township in Kalkaska County.

The DNR tells us hundreds of years ago when Surveyors put in a corner of a road or needed to mark a corner for a building lot, they would mark that with a witness tree. That practice still happens today, but now, buildings are more often used as a marker. The DNR says the tree died last year, and it needed to come down.  It was one of only a few left in the state.

The parts of the tree that are salvageable will go to the Surveyor's Organization where keepsake plaques will be made out of the wood.