Object of the Month – May 2009

A branch from the Old Council Tree

This is a branch from Neenah’s famous “Old Council Tree” which used to stand at the tip of Kimberly Point, where the Fox River emerges from Lake Winnebago. The gigantic elm could be seen for miles away across the lake and was allegedly the site of many Indian pow-wows and meetings. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removed the tree in the late 1880s when widening the river channel to improve navigation. Some of the wood from the tree was used to make furniture for lumber baron Henry Sherry. The Historical Society also has a four-foot long plank cut from the tree.