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The
Fleming Oak
TE Photo, August 2002
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| Tradition
and history surround the Fleming Oak. William W. Fleming and his sixteen year
old son, Martin V. reputedly camped near the tree as they passed through the area
about 1854 freighting on the Ft. Gates/ Ft. Phantom Hill Road established to serve
the short-lived military post located above modern Abilene.
It was a prospecting trip, of sorts, before the town of Comanche
was established. The Fleming family was living in Williamson County in 1850 at
Georgetown but they
relocated about 1854 to a home near the site of modern Killeen.
|
 | Another
view of the Fleming Oak |
| Martin
V. Fleming apparently visited in Comanche again
in the late 1850s as he returned to his Bell
County home from a deer hunt. He learned of the Civil War while in Comanche
and joined Co. G., First Texas Cavalry under Col. Thomas C. Frost in May of 1861
with a group of area men who mustered in at that time. Mart Fleming, wounded twice,
was discharged on disability in June of 1863 but he apparently did not return
directly to Comanche. He lived briefly in Mexico
after the Civil War but settled in Brenham
about 1866. Some relatives lived in Washington
County and there he was married to his second wife, whom he brought to Comanche
in 1872. Uncle Mart, as he was affectionately known, was a stockman and a farmer
with business interests in Comanche through the
years. He is best remembered for his meat market located on the south side of
Comanche's square opposite the Fleming Oak and
next to the original Comanche National Bank building. The façade at the market
site is being restored as part of Comanche's Main
Street program. |
| The
Trunk of the Fleming Oak
August 2002 |
| A
beloved Comanche tradition arises from the city's
effort to remove all the old trees from the square about 1911. The often-told
tale recounts the story of Mart Fleming defending the tree with his shotgun and
threatening anyone who would take an axe to it. A similar story survives about
an event in 1919 when Uncle Mart, again, protected the tree from a crew paving
the square.
In an interview in 1921, Fleming says he did not mention
his shotgun but told those who threatened the tree that he would use his "No.
10's" on them, a reference to his boot size rather than a gun. Fleming reported
that some rough words were needed but workmen laid down their tools. The shotgun
defense legend has been told and retold, spelled out on an historical marker beneath
the tree, and is an entrenched piece of local folklore. Another long established
Comanche tradition is decorating the Fleming Oak
with lights at Christmas time.
Uncle Mart died in 1928 and is buried
in Comanche with his only child, Camille, who
remained single and lived at home. Uncle Mart, thrice married, is reputed to have
helped rear several orphans and his family included step children as well. A colorful
figure, tall, lean, and pictured late in life with a white beard, Uncle Mart continues
to remind one of Comanche's past. The tree he
saved is treasured.
March 2003 © Margaret T. Waring
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