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“On the old Thomasville Road, there were at least a dozen Indian marker trees between Poe Hill and Thomasville — approximately 25 miles. The old wilderness trails would run along ridge tops.
The markers were there to indicate something of importance, primarily a cave or spring.
All the ones on that trail were white oak.”
— Kevin Bright, Smallin Cave owner and Missouri Ozark Mountain native
Indian marker trees — also called Indian thong trees for the leather thongs used to pull the saplings into place — served as marker signs, usually pointing to water or shelter.
Consequently, surviving marker trees often point from now-forgotten wilderness trails to caves and springs.
Marker trees were usually white oak (Quercus alba). The marker tree at Smallin Cave in rural Christian County, Missouri, however, is a black walnut (Juglans nigra).
Harriet Wills Hamilton, who grew up only a few miles away in rural Rogersville, was photographed on the tree and near the cave in 1940 and 1941 (Plates 1 and 4).
“I wasn‘t about to go in that cave back then,” remembers Harriet, who was only a small girl at the time. “We had probably brought a cousin and family to the cave for a picnic. My dad stayed up with me. I didn’t like the cave because it was scary. I had no idea the tree was a marker tree then.”
Not many Indian marker trees survive in the Ozarks today.
Those that do, however, are a deeply valuable part of our region’s heritage — a tangible reminder of Native American past.
— Joshua Heston, the editor
Marker Tree photo plates
Photo credits: Plate 1, courtesy of Harriet E. Wills Hamilton, circa 1941. Plate 2, Walnut leaves (6/1/08) Plate 3, Smallin Cave property, (9/22/09). Photo credits J. Heston. Plate 4, Rickie Chaffin and Harriet Wills Hamilton at Smallin Cave, circa 1940, courtesy of Harriet Hamilton. Plate 5, Harriet E. Wills Hamilton (9/22/09). Photo credits J. Heston. Plate 6, Oak leaves (10/30/09).
State of the Ozarks © Archive.
October 10, 2009
