The Hanging Tree

Last week Katie and I celebrated out second anniversary. We packed up our lawn chairs, sun screen, and lunch and headed for the beach at Port Aransas, Texas. This is where we spent much of our honeymoon and we wanted to return. Last year we were in Thailand for our anniversary. We like to do things water for this special occasion.
With me being a history lover I enjoy the drive from Austin to our nations "third coast." There are more historical markers between Luling, TX and Refugio, TX than I've seen anywhere else. I still have many places to explore, but this place is impressive. There is a reason they call this the "Revolution Trail." There is one stretch where passers by can see a brown sign that reads, "Historical Marker One Mile on the Left," and before you reach the one mile you see another sign that indicates one being one mile on the right. They are everywhere.
As my father-in-law would say, historical markers are like Christmas presents to me.
We like to stop at the Presidio La Bahia in Goliad, where Col. Fannan of the Texas Revolution and several hundred of his men were murdered by Mexican troops.
On this occasion we didn't stop at the Presidio, because I wanted read as many historical markers as I could and we wanted to get back before dark. There were also dark clouds looming in the distance and we did't want to get caught up in any terrential downpours.
I still had the urge to stop in Goliad. There is so much to see in one tiny town. I had driven around the courthousebefore, but this time I wanted to read all the signs surrounding the building.
Katie and I stopped and read some signs about the courthouse, they weren't very interesting. We enjoyed the area though and decided to get out and walk around the town square. As we were walking into one store I noticed some smaller historical signs. I told Katie that before we left I wanted to read them and get a picture of them. There were some interesting ones, but this one is the most memorable one I read. I have a picture of the sign which is entitles, "The Hanging Tree." There is also a picture of the tree.
If you can read the sign then you know what this tree was used for. When people were found guilty of a capital offense they were taken out to this tree, a strong branch was found and the guilty party was hung. This tree was also used by hangings that were not necessarily sanctioned by the courts.
After reading this I realized I was standing under this large tree that was once used for hanging. I got an eerie feeling. I had to take a picture of it before leaving though and that is what you see here. This magnificent tree was once used to execute people. I am not sure how many people died only a few feet from where I was standing, but I do know that a lot of intense emotion was felt here.
Look at the picture and try to imagine it a hundred years ago. How does it make you feel?