In 1883, the railroad built a track through this area. The community was known as “Edwards” in honor of Jonathan Edwards, head of the railroad crew. When Edwards and the railroad crew moved on, he told the citizens to rename the town. The people decided on “Marked Tree” because of a famous legend. The legend starts with the Indians who lived here before the white man. The Osage and Cherokee Indians marked a giant oak tree in this area for transportation purposes to navigate up and down the nearby rivers. In the early 1800’s, the infamous Murrell Outlaw Gang marked the same tree with an “M” for rendezvous purposes after their bank robberies. So in 1883, the town was named after this giant oak tree. Later in 1890, the giant tree was swept away by a huge flood which devastated the area. However, in 1979 during a construction project, the trunk of a well preserved giant oak tree was excavated which was believed to be the famous tree. The town also claims to be the only community in the world with the name “Marked Tree” and the only town where two rivers run in different directions! Just in case you are curious, the two rivers are the Saint Francis and the Little. I have been there and the rivers actually run in opposite directions.
