An old oak tree that has stood along East Stone Street for generations will get a new life — with the help of a chainsaw.
Collinsville resident Awbrey Hughlett has commissioned Della Meredith Chainsaw Carvings to transform the trunk of a massive oak tree at 107 E. Stone St. into a roughly 10-foot-tall pirate in a nod to Collinsville school spirit.
The carving will take about three days to complete, with part of the work scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, in conjunction with Collinsville Pioneer Day. Hughlett said the public is welcome to stop by and watch the chainsaw carving take shape.
Visitors will also have an opportunity to see inside the historic three-story home on the property. Hughlett plans to offer tours of the house during Pioneer Day.
Hughlett purchased the property several years ago and has since undertaken an extensive renovation of the historic home.
The tours will give visitors a chance to see the results of that work while also watching another piece of the property’s history take on a new form outside.
The carving project began with a problem.
Hughlett said the old oak in front of the house had deteriorated to the point that it posed a threat to nearby homes and power lines.
Instead of cutting it completely to the ground and facing the task of removing a stump about 3 feet in diameter, he left approximately 15 feet of the trunk standing.
“My plan was to get it carved into something,” Hughlett said. “I thought that would be a great idea.”
Hughlett estimates the tree could be more than 100 years old and said it had only died within the last two or three years. Its size and age had made it something of a neighborhood landmark.
“A lot of people know of it,” he said. “It’s kind of an icon, I guess, if you will, of the neighborhood. Give it a little extra new life as something else, and it can continue existing.”
Once he decided to turn the trunk into a piece of art, Hughlett began considering what the finished sculpture should depict. He eventually settled on something distinctly Collinsville — a pirate.
“I felt like the most applicable thing for a small town is something school spirit related,” he said.
Hughlett contacted several chainsaw artists before selecting Houston-area artist Della Meredith. While other artists he contacted were willing to carve sculptures up to about 8 feet tall, Meredith agreed to create a 10-foot piece.
Her previous work also helped make the decision. Hughlett said Meredith has experience creating pirate-themed carvings, including work in the Galveston area.
“She’s done pirate-related things before,” Hughlett said. “It kind of fits in her repertoire. I figured she was a good fit for what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The project will primarily be completed with chainsaws, with scaffolding allowing Meredith to work around the towering trunk.
Meredith expects the sculpture to require at least three days of work. Hughlett requested that one of those days coincide with Pioneer Day so festival visitors can see the artist at work.
Whether Saturday will fall near the beginning, middle or end of the carving process has not yet been determined.
Once completed, the pirate will remain rooted in its original location. Hughlett said he is still deciding whether the finished sculpture will be painted, stained or otherwise treated.
He also has an unconventional plan for the back of the sculpture.
Hughlett has asked Meredith to leave a flat area where visitors can pay $5 to carve their own names, initials or messages into the tree.
The money will help offset the cost of commissioning the sculpture while giving residents an opportunity to leave their own mark on the old oak.
Hughlett said carving names into trees is a long-standing tradition, and he figures people might eventually be tempted to do it anyway.
Rather than fight it, he decided to “lean into it.”
For Hughlett, Pioneer Day will offer a chance to showcase both preservation and something new at 107 E. Stone St.
Visitors can tour a historic home given new life through an extensive renovation while watching a century-old oak begin its own transformation into a new Collinsville landmark.
