Hangman’s Elm

Hangman’s Elm, sometimes referred to as The Hanging Tree, is and English Elm found in the northwest corner of Washington Square Park. In 1989 it was determined to be 310 years old, making it the oldest known tree in all of Manhattan. The site was allegedly used for corporal punishment during the 1800s, and may have been used as an Indian burial ground prior to that. Witnesses say they have seen spirits hanging from the tree and swaying, even in the absence of any wind. One particular ghost, Rose Butler, is said to have been hanged here after being falsely accused of setting a house in which she worked afire, though actual historical records show she was really hanged in a potter’s field some 500 feet away in 1820.