Pride of Place - The Charter Oak

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On October 31, 1687, Sir Edmund Andros, the royal governor of Connecticut, arrived in Hartford to seize the state charter. The charter had been granted by King Charles II in 1662, and gave the people of Connecticut the right to elect officials, worship as they chose, own property, and raise a militia as needed to defend themselves.

Now, James II wanted to take those freedoms away and consolidate New England into a Dominion. The colonists, who had spent the last fifty years building a culture for themselves, were not going to sit still for such consolidation.

In a nighttime meeting at Sanford’s Tavern, the governor demanded the charter from Captain Joseph Wadsworth in a tense scene. One can only wonder what providential hand cast a gust of wind and extinguished all the candles, leaving the room in darkness. Seeing his chance, the Captain seized the document and fled. But what to do with it?

On galloping hooves, Captain Wadsworth fled to the Wyllys estate where he stuffed the document inside the hollow of a great white oak. There the charter remained safe until it could be retrieved. The charter itself remained the law of the land in Connecticut until 1818 when a new state constitution was adopted. The great white oak where the document was hidden became a symbol of pride for the people of Connecticut, a tree that sheltered the ideals of freedom in its heart.

The Charter of 1667 was embedded in the Fundamental Orders of 1639 that established Connecticut as a unique entity. It was over 100 years from the charter until the outbreak of start of the Revolutionary War. By that time, the basic ideals of a free people had been established, and the Fundamental orders had set a precedent for constitutional versus divine rule.

This meant the colonists did not need to wait on Mother England for justice or for English troops for law enforcement, but could choose judges and sheriffs from among their peers. The Fundamental Orders were a deliberate act of popular sovereignty, unlike the Mayflower and Providence compacts.

The Charter Oak became a symbol of local sovereignty and individual determination, and a source of pride for the colony of Connecticut. Such a source of pride, that when it at last fell to old age and a violent storm, the church bells tolled, and crowds gathered to pay their respects as the Colt Armory band played dirges. Poetry was even written about it, and it’s image depicted in art, and on currency.

Fredric Edwin Church - 1847 - American landscape painter born in Hartford. He was a direct descendant of Thomas Hooker the ‘founding father of Connecticut’ and inspiration for The Fundamental Orders.

Connecticut has little such pride today. High taxes and power bills, corruption, voter fraud and irregularities, and government over-reach have beaten down our beautiful and historic state. Many of us are transplants, brought here for work, or relationships, and this makes it harder to feel the pride of place that that was part of our ancestor’s lives. How many people can say that ‘My grandparents are buried here’?

There are still people in CT for which this is true. But we don’t have to have our ancestors buried here, or even to have been born in Connecticut to cherish and honor the rich history of this place. Like the Charter Oak, we can put down deep roots. We do that by visiting the natural landscapes CT has to offer and letting those places fill us. We do that by telling, contemplating, and honoring the stories of people who fought and died for our freedoms. We do that by acting to reclaim what our ancestors worked for, whether or not they lived in Connecticut, because all parents want a good life for their children.

So I invite you to talk to people. Tell them the story of the Charter Oak. Talk about how lovely Connecticut has a little bit of everything. Tell people about why you moved here, why you stay, or about your family history here. It’s a great way to start a conversation about local versus national polyticks.

Let’s rebuild our pride in place.

Please share this post with people in Connecticut. We need to re-build our state.

No matter what we’re talking about on any given week, getting people registered to vote is a big priority. That can be done online, or at your local town office. Making the commitment to get out and vote is in no way trivial. If you aren’t registered, get on that.

Got a story to tell? A reason you love CT? Want to help make CT healthy again, or are you looking for something you can do to help? Talk to us!