New statehouse gavels made from Newark Earthworks tree

NEWARK – A fallen American red oak tree from the Newark Earthworks is getting a new life as a set of gavels for the Ohio Legislature.

The tree, downed during a storm several years ago, snagged the attention of staff members at the Ohio History Connection during a visit to the Great Circle at the Newark Earthworks. Not wanting to see the tree go to waste, the nonprofit started brainstorming ideas to repurpose it.

At some point, the idea of gavels for the Ohio Legislature came up, said Burt Logan, executive director and CEO for Ohio History Connection. There is a tradition of gavels being presented to lawmakers, Logan said, and it seemed like the perfect use for the old tree.

Once the wood was properly dried, a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma carved the gavels.

The gavels were presented to both chambers of the Ohio Legislature on Wednesday during a special ceremony in honor of Ohio Statehood Day.

There is a lot of history in the gavels, Logan said. The tree the gavels were made from was estimated to be about 225 years old and was part of the Great Circle, a ceremonial site for mound-building tribes.

It’s that history that Logan hopes will catch people’s attention. Not only is Statehood Day a great way to celebrate the founding of Ohio, he said, it also is an opportunity to show public officials, legislators and administrators the important work being done by history organizations throughout Ohio to tell the state’s story.

“I think that it is so important that we maintain touch with the past. There’s something basic in just being a person that you want to know, biologically, where you came from. But there is also the emotional and intellectual question of ‘Where did I come from?’ ” Logan said. “The more that we understand our ancestors and the society they lived in, it has changed and evolved over the years. ... I think it helps us individuals.”

George Ironstrack, a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, said the man who carved the gavel was honored to not only be involved in the project but to have the Ohio History Connection recognize Ohio is a part of the tribe’s homelands and what a powerful symbol the red oak tree was.

“Our people aren’t mound builders, but Ohio is the landscape that our people lived on and we traveled through,” Ironstrack said. “The tree kind of symbolizes the rootedness, the connectedness to a place for lots of different people who have called Ohio home over time and a shared desire to protect those places.”

emaddern@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @emmaddern