Oneida township

Tomahawk Marks In A Sugar Tree

Did you know? When an old sugar tree near Huntingdon was cut down in 1875, tomahawk marks were found in it.

It stood near an early cabin on a farm about five miles from Huntingdon, thought to be the first improvement between there and McAlevy's Fort. A careful count of its growth showed it had stood through more than two centuries. The tomahawk marks dated back about one hundred and seventy years, made when the tree was about three feet around. When it was cut it measured eleven feet eight inches.

The 1876 county history says the tree yielded from one thousand to twelve hundred pounds of sugar, having been regularly tapped every year by white men for about ninety years.

Checked and confirmed. CONFIRMED 2026-10-03 against the sources listed: every factual sentence was tied to a verbatim passage and a script confirmed each passage is in its source. Where sources disagreed on a number, the number was left out.

Sources

Milton Scott Lytle, History of Huntingdon County (1876)

Checked 2026-10-03 · County histories and primary sources, read in full

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