On Saturday night our 115 year + sycamore tree was struck by lightning and blew out the window on the summer kitchen. It is a huge tree that sits very close to our farmhouse, which is about 150 years old. Our development is named after this tree. It's between 100-110 feet tall.

Although a tree expert has told us to wait about a month to see what damage was cause, we have decided to take the tree down. If any portion of it falls toward the house it will cut it in half. If the tree falls in anyother direction it will take out a good portion of our neighborhood. My family is heart broken over this loss. It has a ton of history around it, not to mention the memories we have made in the past 5 years. We have been told that it was planted by a one armed grandmother. We don't know if this is true, but we think that it is a funny story. A landscaper thinks it may feed off an underground spring, which is why it is so massive. We know that our house is mentioned in a local book, but we don't know the name of the book or if the tree is mentioned.
We really don't want to see it go, but feel we have no other choice. We don't want to live in fear of any portion of this tree falling.

We are trying to find a mill or anyone who may be interested in it. The expense to have this cut down ourselves would be like taking out a second mortage. If we could find someone who could put the lumber to good use, they can cut it down and have it. The branches are trees in themselves, about 50-60 feet. I can't say enough about how HUGE this tree is. It's about 14 -16 feet around. If I keep the base, I would have a nice patio. I personally would like to use some of it to build a porch on the house. I know that this is sappy, but if I make her into my porch I would still have her around. I was not a tree hugger until Saturday night. I have given her many hugs and have talked to her daily since. It's crushing to look at the scars in her trunk. :(

If anyone knows of a mill or cabinet maker who would be interested, please let me know.

I would bring some friends out to take it down, but if its the tree that I think it is in Sycamore Heights, it'd be too big of a job for us.

Ask around the neighborhood, maybe some folks would be interested in using some of the wood to build a nice bench or something. I'm sure you'd run into someone who had a connection with someone else that would take down the tree for little or no charge.

You could also call some local landscapers to see if they'd be interested. I'd start with Roger and Randy Finn at Antietam Tree, they're good people. They would definitely come out to take a look and tell you whether the tree is going to survive or not at no charge. They provide free estimates.

You have the right tree. We just had the trees cut back a couple of weeks ago by Arbor Care. He came out on Monday and said it would have to come down. It's too big of a job for him. We need a crain. So I called Antietam next. He is the one to tell me to wait.
Since you know what tree I'm talking about, I'm sure you can understand my concern of any portion of it falling.
Thanks so much for responding.

Sorry for the strike! I love big old trees. I would wait and see if it bounces back. It has survived for so long. It may not drop limbs. Dont be hasty...

From what we can see, the strike didn't hit the limbs. It may have, we can't see all the way up. If we follow the scar on the tree, it hit between 3 large log like branches, traveled down one side, through a hollowed branch that was just cut off, blew out a large long portion of the trunk on the opposite side, and then grounded out at the base of the tree. The blown out portion is what broke the windows. My husband was standing in the kitchen window, which faces the tree. If the lighning had come out that side he would have been seriously injuried if not killed. There were huge chunks of tree everywhere. He said it was the loudest thing he ever heard.
Our major concern is how much damage was done to the inside of the tree, and is it able to support the top portion.

Yeah, totally understand your concern. I have two very large pine trees in my back yard and at my rental house I have an oak tree in the back that is probably 125 years old. I had to have the city come out and cut the branches back because they were in danger of taking down a bunch of power lines if one of those branches were to come down.

I would call whoever does your homeowner's insurance and see what they think. It would be a shame to take the tree down, but you also don't want it to come crashing down on your house, possibly injuring or killing someone inside. Too bad that you got two different opinions.

If the tree is considered a risk, which we don't know if it is or not, they said they would give us a 1,000.00 after our deductable to take it down. Since we called they are considering it a risk, and now we would need to show proof that it isn't.
If we know that it is a risk and we don't take it down, and then it falls, we are not covered for anything.
Basically that is why we have made the decision to take it down. My husband has always been slightly afraid of the tree anyway. Now going through this experience he is both traumatized and terrified. If it had just been a limb I would feel differently. Right now I would need a super duper expert to tell me that nothing is wrong for me to change my mind. Even then it would always be in the bad of my mind. I don't think anything will change my husband's.
After doing research on the net, I have found that if the tree seems to survives, it is usually dies in a year or two after the strike

If it's as much of a local landmark as you seem to be saying, you might also want to make sure your neighbors are all on board with your decision. Some well-meaning tree-hugger could slap you with a lawsuit, claiming you're destroying a historic landmark or something.

I'm certainly not defending them, but just pointing out the risk. Stranger things have happened.

Yes, stranger things have happened, but I think that I will take the risk. Considering it can take out my own home and a couple of others depending on which way it falls. I'm talking major devistation. I also have 3 young children, so what others think doesn't concern me. I'm confident that I would have a stronger case.
I love history and I love this tree. I would never tear down a historic landmark without good reason. I'll leave that up to developers. Besides, I don't know that it is one. I have never been told that it is.

If it is THE Sycamore for which Sycamore Heights is named, you are the proud custodian of a historic landmark. If someone thinks it will survive and does not absolutely have to be taken down, they could sue. It wouldn't necessarily take much for them to get the tree offically recognized as a historic landmark if they got wind of your plans to remove it and they felt it didn't absolutely need to come down, and then your hands would be tied. Hopefully your tree is not truly the local icon that it sounds like.

My brother owns a house that's on the National Register, and he is very limited in what he can and cannot do with his own house. Believe me, you don't want to mess with something that could be construed as a historic landmark.

I do plan to send notice to the neighborhood. Many people who built their houses when the property was sold off still live here. That was in the late 50's early 60's. Mostly Sr.now. I have only been here 5 years. What I know about the house and tree comes from the neighbors or a previous owner from the 80's. They are the ones who told us about the book. It's not a book about our house in particular. I think that it's a book on the farmhouses of Wash. Co. I don't know for sure, because I don't know the name of the book. We have gone to the Historical Society they don't have anything on this property. Then we went to the library and the records that far back are too hard to read. I think I may have found a page from the book on line. Again, it was too difficult to read, because it was a photo copy of the page and very blurry. Every once in a while when I can't sleep I try to do some research.
If it can be proven that the tree is a historical landmark and that it is safe, then by all means they can come and prove it. I don't want to see it come down. Historc or not. I may call the society today.

Hopefully you'll get some clear answer from the tree professionals soon, one way or the other. Then it won't really matter. It would be nice if the tree could be saved, but if it cannot then it's settled.