Charter Oak
a tree which formerly stood in Hartford, Conn., in the hollow trunk of which the colonial charter is said to have been hidden. The story is that when Governor Andros went to Hartford in 1687 to demand the surrender of the charter, the debate in the Assembly over his demand was prolonged until darkness set in, when the lights were suddenly extinguished, and a patriot, Captain Wadsworth, escaped with the document and hid it in the oak.
The venerable tree was preserved with great care until 1856, when it was blown down in a storm.