Why Connecticut Is the "Charter Oak State": The Tree That Hid a Royal Charter

A Legend of Defiance Rooted in an Oak

Connecticut's nickname comes from a singular event in 1687 involving a massive white oak tree and the colony's precious Royal Charter.

The Story

1. 1662: King Charles II grants Connecticut a remarkably liberal charter (self‑governance, elected governor, religious freedom).
2. 1687: King James II sends Sir Edmund Andros to revoke charters and consolidate New England under the Dominion of New England.
3. October 31, 1687: Andros demands the charter at a heated meeting in Hartford. Suddenly, candles are extinguished. In the darkness, Captain Joseph Wadsworth spirits the document away and hides it in the hollow of a great white oak on Samuel Wyllys's property.
4. The charter survives; Andros leaves empty‑handed. The oak becomes a symbol of resistance.

The Tree's Fate

• Stood until August 21, 1856, when a violent storm toppled it.
• Wood made into chairs (one in the State Capitol), canes, and souvenirs.
• A genetic descendant (scion) grows today on the Capitol grounds in Hartford.

Legacy

The Charter Oak appears on the Connecticut state quarter (1999) and the 1935–36 Connecticut Tercentenary half dollar. It embodies the state's identity: liberty, ingenuity, and rootedness.