SCYTHE TREE

Inscription

SCYTHE TREE
JAMES W. JOHNSON PUT A SCYTHE
IN THIS TREE & ADVISED NOT TO
REMOVE UNTIL HE RETURNED FROM
CIVIL WAR. HE DID NOT RETURN.
OTHERS REPEATED THE TRADITION.
NEW YORK FOLKLORE
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2026

In the small town of Waterloo, New York lies a living memorial dedicated to sacrifices of servicemen. The legend of the Scythe tree originated in 1861, when 26-year-old James Wyman Johnson was working on his family farm and decided that he would enlist in the Union Army. After utilizing a scythe to cut hay in a nearby field, James hung the scythe in the notch of a sapling and told his parents not to remove it until he returned from battle. He enlisted in Company G of the 85^th New York Volunteers.

In April 1864, James Wyman was wounded in the upper thigh in a skirmish at Plymouth, North Carolina. He eventually passed away in a Confederate hospital in Raleigh and was buried in an unmarked grave. Johnson’s parents could not accept their son’s death and left the scythe in the tree in hopes that he would someday come home.

Over fifty years later, two brothers, Raymond and Lynn Schaffer enlisted to fight in the U. S. Army and Navy to fight in World War I. To continue the tradition, the Schaffers each placed a scythe in the tree before they left for war. Unlike Johnson, both brothers survived but did not retrieve their scythes upon coming home.

As time progressed, the tree grew and engulfed the metal implements in pulp. The wooden handles became rotted and were removed. American flags were once hung near the rusty scythe blades in honor of the soldiers. The site became a legendary landmark and tourist destination for the community and was featured in a variety of postcards. In 1990, it was listed on the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s list of historic New York trees. Although professional arborists have stepped in to preserve the tree, after decades of harsh weather and deterioration, a large upper portion of the tree collapsed in 2023. The three scythes were spared and are still visible from the stump. The tree is a Balm of Gilead, a species of poplar that will regrow from the stump.