At this old cemetery behind the Mobile Library’s main branch, there is an oak tree growing out of the grave of a man named Boyington. It is said that he was an African American who was executed for a crime that he did not commit. According to local lore, his last words stated that an oak tree would grow from his grave to prove his innocence. Folks say the tree is the source of some strange noises.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- Church Street
Mobile, AL
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 30.685678782244914, -88.05078077322833
- County:
- Mobile County, Alabama
- Nearest Towns:
- Mobile, AL (0.8 mi.)
Prichard, AL (4.0 mi.)
Chickasaw, AL (5.6 mi.)
Spanish Fort, AL (8.1 mi.)
Saraland, AL (9.4 mi.)
Tillmans Corner, AL (9.7 mi.)
Daphne, AL (10.4 mi.)
Satsuma, AL (11.6 mi.)
Theodore, AL (12.1 mi.)
Bellefontaine, AL (13.6 mi.)
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
According to recent research, the tree shown in the video is most likely NOT the oak tree that supposedly grew from Charles Boyington’s grave. A picture of an engraving published in a book in the late 19th century (“The Tree: Being the Strange Case of Charles R.S. Boyington” by Francois Ludgére Diard) shows the tree being much closer to the graveyard wall. Upon frequent investigations, we’ve found that the wall WAS destroyed, but rebuilt on the same foundation as the original. In other words, the wall appears to be in the same location as when the picture was engraved and then copied into the book. Those same investigations garnered no evidence whatsoever as to the tree in the video being the famed “Boyington Oak”. However, paranormal evidence HAS been reported around another tree that is closer to the wall. The truth of the matter could only be completely determined by ground penetrating radar or an archaeological dig. Both of which, I heartily believe, NO ONE will undertake JUST to prove a legend.
Plus, a newspaper article published in the same time frame as the book, mentions an unnamed woman giving a deathbed confession to the murder of Nathaniel Frost.
We regularly take groups to that area, which was originally called, “The Gravekeepers Garden” (on South Bayou Street in Mobile and NOT in the graveyard. He WAS a convicted murderer at the time so therefore could not be buried there) and investigate each time. We’ve been doing so for over a year now and have research to back up most (if not all) of the paranormal evidence we’ve gathered.
There is a video on the website called “Meet Charles” where we feel that we communicate with his Feel free to contact me for more info. Thanks!
My dad took me and my sister out there one day. There was a grave that made me and my sister want to play piano after we brushed away dirt to look at the name. I’m not sure if it was a tree that everyone talks about but there was a large tree growing out of a grave and I kept telling my dad I wanted to go to it and lay down but he kept telling me no. I felt like someone was calling me to go over there. There was also a part where my dad said he felt like he was being pushed every time he tried to enter a certain spot. Me and my sister had no problem crossing over that spot so I think that it has something to do with the fact that my dad had recently left my mom for another woman that he had been cheating with. When I walked over to one area/grave that was the resting place for a 2 year old girl I couldn’t help but start laughing and wanting to be playful. While in that moment I also felt the need to take care of a baby. I would love to go back