BARBERTON: Vandals Tuesday morning cut down 10 black walnut trees planted by town founder O.C. Barber more than 100 years ago.
The 50-foot-tall trees, their 30-inch wide trunks cut into sections, are scattered around the ground near a historic wishing well Barber had installed in the backyard of his mansion.
Steve Kelleher, president of the Barberton Historical Society, guessed that thieves intended to return later with equipment to haul away the valuable wood.
“This is just senseless,” Kelleher said on Wednesday. “It practically brings me to tears.”
Equally distraught at the sight of the toppled trees was society officer Bernie Gnap, who noted that falling trunks also sheared off limbs from a Persian lilac tree planted by Barber, believed to be one of the largest of its species in Ohio.
The trees are on two vacant lots owned by the historical society on Mansion Drive. The group purchased the land on the residential street about five years ago to protect the century-old wishing well and some of the original landscape.
The mansion itself was torn down in 1965, but part of its foundation is still visible on the property as well. The work of the vandals knocked off pieces of concrete posts that remain.
“They didn’t know what they were doing. We’ve got a frickin’ mess on our hands,” Gnap said.
The Barberton Police Department is investigating.
The historical society has Barber’s original blueprint identifying plants — including the black walnut trees and Persian lilac — that were installed by landscaper O.C. Simmons in 1910.
“Barber had a beautiful 40-acre park all around here, and this is all that’s left. That’s why we wanted to save it,” Gnap said.
Neighbors saw the tree-cutters at work during daylight hours Tuesday morning but assumed they had permission, Kelleher said. One neighbor reported there were three men, one with a “straggly beard,” and that they drove a small SUV.
When the society purchased the land, dozens of volunteers helped clear the property of shrubs, brush and trees not native to the design, so the sound of chain saws Tuesday morning probably didn’t get as much attention, he said.
Kelleher said he learned about the destruction after the son of a neighbor who had been visiting his mom that day sent an email to an acquaintance asking why the trees were being cut down. That email made its way to Kelleher Wednesday morning.
Gnap noted that only the valuable black walnuts were cut. Other trees on the property were not touched.
“They saw money,” he said.
Black walnut is popular among woodworkers. It’s considered a premium domestic hardwood used for furniture, cabinetry, gunstocks, interior paneling, veneer, turned items and other small wooden objects and novelties, according to Internet sources.
Gnap, who has spent a lifetime studying the town founder and what had been his extensive Anna Dean Farm, said the attack reminds him of ISIS, the Middle East terrorist group that has been destroying icons that have stood for thousands of years.
“Wanton destruction, to take our history like that,” he said.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.