{"id":1380,"slug":"big-oak-robert-fowler-memorial-park-geneva-alabama","story":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["The Big Oak is the met — the '300 years' that's the state's oldest, the 'settlement's meeting' that's the town's start. The 'Constitution Oak' is the named — the 'two rivers join' that's the park's fork, the '100 feet wide' that's the canopy spread. The 'rival died' is the crowned — the 'Mobile oak' that's the contest ended, the 'now alone' that's the tallest claimed.","The 'recognized' is the listed — the 'Famous & Historic' that's the state's book, the 'before Geneva' that's the older than town. The 'junction' is the watched — the 'Choctawhatchee meets Pea' that's the waters merge, the 'festival's shade' that's the annual host. The Big Oak is the elder — the 'three centuries' that's the rings counted, the 'still meeting' that's the shade's use.","The file keeps the oak: the 300 years, the rivers' junction, the rival's death, and the meeting shade.","The Big Oak is the archive's Alabama file — the tree older than the town."]},{"heading":"Why this file matters","paragraphs":["The Big Oak is the archive's Alabama file — the state's oldest living resident.","A park keeps its elder — the file's suggestion being that the oak's hold is the witnessed: the '300 years' that's the history stood, the 'two rivers' that's the landmark made, and the 'Constitution' that's the name's claim."]}],"name":"Big Oak — Robert Fowler Memorial Park","aliases":["Constitution Oak","Constitutional Oak","Ole Oak"],"type":"HISTORIC_TREE","type_label":"Historic Tree","cats":["HAUNTED_PLACE"],"groups":["hauntings","legends"],"desc":"Historic tree in Geneva; research record.","full_desc":"Big Oak — Robert Fowler Memorial Park is a historic tree in Geneva, Alabama. Historic tree in Geneva; research record. The city identifies the tree in Fowler Park near the rivers’ junction as an early community meeting place. Local lore holds that Southern Spirit Guide recounts a haunted hanging-tree tradition.","address":"South River Street","city":"Geneva","county":"Geneva County","state":"Alabama","postal":null,"region":"South","lat":31.043278,"lon":-85.875833,"coord_kind":"CITY","status":"UNKNOWN","access":"UNKNOWN","access_notes":null,"ownership":null,"website":null,"phone":null,"year_built":null,"year_opened":null,"year_closed":null,"year_demolished":null,"designation":null,"current_use":null,"research_notes":"Discovery pass. Precise location, historical chronology and current visitor conditions require independent enrichment. Confidence concerns provenance only.","stage":"SOURCE_RESEARCH","quality":{"level":"MEDIUM","score":60.6,"dims":{"location_confidence":0.75,"identity_confidence":0.85,"historical_confidence":0.8,"source_quality":1,"paranormal_claim_provenance":0.8,"coordinate_confidence":0,"current_access_confidence":0,"freshness":0.65}},"claims":[{"id":624,"type":"HAUNTING","description":"Southern Spirit Guide recounts a haunted hanging-tree tradition. Big Oak — Robert Fowler Memorial Park's file is thin on proof and long on persistence — the standard profile of American place-lore. It's a documented legend: the telling is real, the contents remain folklore. The account appears in 'Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part IV'. The reports keep the place on every haunted list it qualifies for.","evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","evidence_label":"Documented legend","entity":null,"where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.5,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part IV","url":"https://www.southernspiritguide.org/alabama-hauntings-county-by-county-part-iv/","publisher":"Southern Spirit Guide","type":"BLOG","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]}],"history":[{"description":"The city identifies the tree in Fowler Park near the rivers’ junction as an early community meeting place. A documented history gives the file real substance; this entry is part of that spine. It's verified history: the dossier's load-bearing detail. 'The Big Oak' documents the entry. The date is part of the site's documented spine.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"The Big Oak","url":"https://www.genevaal.gov/oak","publisher":"City of Geneva","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}}],"legends":[{"name":null,"summary":"Southern Spirit Guide recounts a haunted hanging-tree tradition. Big Oak — Robert Fowler Memorial Park's file is thin on proof and long on persistence — the standard profile of American place-lore. 'Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part IV' preserves the telling; the record keeps it filed where it belongs, as lore. Sources including 'Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part IV' keep the claim in circulation. Legends accrue where records go silent; this one filled the gap and stayed.","earliest":null,"evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","source":{"name":"Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part IV","url":"https://www.southernspiritguide.org/alabama-hauntings-county-by-county-part-iv/","publisher":"Southern Spirit Guide","type":"BLOG","authority":4}}],"entities":[],"events":[],"investigations":[],"encounters":[],"media":[],"persons":[],"visitor":{"tour_availability":"Verify before visiting","notes":"Access details are unverified; research before visiting.","last_verified_at":"2026-09-18 11:32:55","source":{"name":"HauntHunt generic access guidance","url":"https://haunthunt.com/about#access-guidance","publisher":"HauntHunt editorial","type":"DIRECTORY","authority":2}},"sources":[{"name":"Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part IV","url":"https://www.southernspiritguide.org/alabama-hauntings-county-by-county-part-iv/","publisher":"Southern Spirit Guide","type":"BLOG","authority":4},{"name":"The Big Oak","url":"https://www.genevaal.gov/oak","publisher":"City of Geneva","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}],"conflicts":[],"wiki":null,"counts":{"claims":1,"history":1,"legends":1,"entities":0,"sources":2}}