Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 207, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1915 — HISTORIC GUM TREE GONE [ARTICLE]

HISTORIC GUM TREE GONE

Venerable Forest King Is Torn Up When Cars Get Away From Engine. Florence, S. C. —The Atlantic Coast line recently constructed a commercial sidetrack on South Barringer, between East Evans and Cheeves street, for the Pee-Dee brick works to use In receiving bricks from their yards. The track switches off from the Evans street crossing and is quite a down chute for about 300 yards and ran directly up against a large sweet gum tree, which was left there for what is known in railroad parlance as a “butting block.” A few days ago a switcher attempted to place four cars of brick “down in the pit,” and as the engine was too light to hold them back they struck the tree such a hard blow that it leveled it to the ground as easily as if it had been pulled over with block and tackle. The tree had been standing there for 40 years or more.