A large, old iconic oak outside Florida’s Historic Capitol came crashing to the ground Saturday afternoon.
The Tallahassee Police Department assisted the Capitol Police in redirecting traffic as crews descended on the tree, cut it up and hauled the timber away.
Passersby said they saw the tree standing as late as 1 p.m. By 7 p.m. the scene was clear and all that remained was the large stump and a few limbs and leaves scattered around the intersection.
The consensus was the blame lied with days of heavy rain in Tallahassee spawned by the remnants of Hurricane Francine, which made landfall in Louisiana on Thursday.
A photo of the tree on its side ensnarled with a traffic signal pole that still managed to jut out over the street in a level manner sparked a shared sense of grief on social media.
The word “heartbreaking” was a common refrain.
“This tree was here when I moved to Tallahassee in ’82, going to look so naked there now,” one person wrote.
“I’m guessing about 100 yrs old, at least,” another person wrote. “I’ve been here since ’78 and it was a good sized tree back then.”
“It was a landmark and definitely won’t be the same without it. I’m so very sad this happened,” yet another commented.
Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis posed a question on the mind of many: “Can you imagine the history it’s witnessed?” he asked on X.
Others had a little fun with the image on social media, tying it to Florida State University’s disastrous early season and the bitter loss to the University of Memphis earlier.
“This tree fell over with embarrassment today from FSU getting kicked in the behind by the Memphis Tigers,” one person wrote.
“Even the trees are giving up on @FSUfootball,” another quipped.
Know anything about the tree? Email Editor William Hatfield at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Historic Capitol oak tree falls, prompting mourning, jokes
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