LAKEWOOD, Ohio - Lakewood Arborist Chris Perry has been dreading the day the city would be forced to take down one its two remaining trees that were known to have been already standing in 1796, when Moses Cleaveland landed at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

However, that's exactly what will be taking place soon with the estimated 320-year-old Summit Avenue tree, which boasts a 75-inch-thick trunk and is 90 feet tall.

"It's always a tough decision to make," Perry said. "The decay and the rot got to such a point there's no way we can really make the tree safe. Pruning won't have an effect, because the tree can't close any of its cuts. It doesn't have enough health or vigor.

"The decay is almost entirely through the whole trunk. Another five or six inches, it would be hollow. There's not a lot there left to support the tons and tons of weight that remain in the canopy. The tree is really a hazard now," he said.

There was debate in the 1990s among city leaders and residents about the future of the Summit Avenue tree when a huge section broke off. At that time, preservation measures succeeded in keeping it alive.

"If there was a way to preserve it and make it safe for a decade or two, the city would go for it," Perry said. "It's a different dynamic than it was 20 years ago when the city decided to preserve it. The condition of the tree is much poorer now than it was then."

The white oak was first officially recognized in 1946 when the Western Reserve Historical Society certified 216 Cuyahoga County trees as Moses Cleaveland Trees. At the time, eight were identified in Lakewood.

The last will be the city's large swamp white oak in front of Roosevelt Elementary School on Athens Avenue.

"It's in pretty good shape," Perry said. "It was trimmed last summer to reduce its weight a little bit, but it's younger -- probably 225 to 250 years old -- than the one we're taking down on Summit. It's probably got another good 10 years left in it before it would begin to break apart."

Perry said the city hopes to preserve a cross-section of the Summit Avenue tree's trunk; however, he has concerns about its current state.

"I'm afraid the whole trunk will be hollow," Perry said. "If we can find an intact piece of the trunk, we want to preserve that and use the tree growth rings to designate a historical timeline for the city of Lakewood. We'd display the section in a public place."

Mayor Mike Summers added: "We're sad to lose this grand old tree, but we're looking into creative ways to preserve its legacy. We would welcome suggestions from our residents and businesses."

As far as the age of Lakewood's tree population, Perry said on public property the city doesn't have any trees more than 150 years old.

"There may be some private trees approaching 200 years old, but this tree on Summit Avenue is absolutely the oldest in the city," Perry said. "It's amazing to think of what went on around this tree back in the day.

"It was probably part of a forest at one time. So this tree was big enough then that somebody made a decision not to cut it down when they were clearing land for orchards. That gives you a size of the tree and what it was 150 years ago."