Lou Whitmire

Reporter

LUCAS - What was left of the famous oak tree from "The Shawshank Redemption" has fallen, apparently the victim of a southwest wind.

Staff at the Mansfield/Richland County Convention and Visitors Bureau said they received a call Friday afternoon informing them the entire tree was down. A portion of the tree had fallen on July 29, 2011, when the tree was split by lightning during a storm.

It appears a southwest wind contributed to the tree's other half splitting and falling.

The tree, located on private property on Pleasant Valley Road near Malabar Farm, was an iconic filming location in the movie, in which Red, the character played by Morgan Freeman, walked along a hay field and removed stones from a rock wall, and where where Andy, the character played by Tim Robbins, kept a gift for Red.

Jodie Snavely, group tour director at the convention and visitors bureau, said fans of the film can still see the site where the tree was from Malabar Farm's property. The tree is located on private property.

Friday afternoon, John and Marge Shoemaker of Weatherford, Texas, stopped by Malabar Farm where they will attend a wedding reception Saturday.

"Our great niece is getting married Saturday," John said.

They photographed the tree Thursday. They are big fans of the film.

Marge said they went to decorate the barn Friday and tour the Malabar Farm Big House. The tour guide told them the tree just fell.

The tree is one of the most popular tourist sites tied to the movie. When the first half of the tree was felled by lightning in 2011 the MansfieldNewsJournal.com story went viral online..

The story about the damaged tree has appeared across the United States in newscasts, newspapers, forums and on websites as far away as India. Cory Turner from NPR's show "All Things Considered" featured the Shawshank Trail.

The Ohio State Reformatory was the backdrop for much of "The Shawshank Redemption," filmed in and around Mansfield in the summer of 1993. It was based on a Stephen King short story titled "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption."

lwhitmir@nncogannett.com

419-521-7223

Twitter: @LWhitmir