Hangman's Elm at Washington Square Park

The Hangman's Elm is a large elm tree in Washington Square Park long associated in local tradition with 18th- and early-19th-century executions; the tree is a noted historic landmark in the park. Historians dispute the claim that executions actually took place at the tree, and scholarly sources describe the hanging story as debated or unproven while confirming the tree's cultural prominence. The elm remains a marked and frequently discussed feature of Washington Square Park's landscape.