There
are many stories in the old west about hanging trees.
This is one of the few that is authentic. The Hanging
Tree is on the north lawn of the Goliad County Courthouse
with many sturdy, low branches. Between 1846
and 1870 criminals convicted of capital crimes inside
the courthouse were immediately brought outside and
their death sentence carried out at the end of a rope.
It isn’t known how many people lost their lives here,
but most estimates are between the dozens and the
low hundreds. The practice was halted by the Texas
Rangers. Oak trees are an essential part of the town
of Goliad and are revered by the locals. In fact,
there are a number of trees that exist in the middle
of the city streets and traffic has to maneuver around
them. Some are marked with low clearance signs because
of their branches, but it is very easy for someone
in a van or truck, or even a tall pedestrian, to get
crowned by one of these twisted branches.
A plaque nearby reads:
"The
Hanging Tree Site for court sessions at various
times from 1846 to 1870. Capital sentences called
for by the courts were carried out immediately,
by means of a rope and a convenient limb. Hangings
not called for by regular courts occurred here during
the 1857 ‘Cart War’ - A series of attacks made by
Texas freighters against Mexican drivers along the
Indianola - Goliad - San Antonio road. About 70
men were killed, some of them on this tree, before
the war was halted by Texas Rangers. (1964)"
