Tree From Shawshank Redemption Toppled Over by Strong Winds

To the dismay of fans, an oak tree from an iconic scene in the Shawshank Redemption has been knocked down by heavy winds in Lucas, Ohio.

The tree appears near the end of the 1994 prison-break movie, where Morgan Freeman’s character Red finds money and a note left by his friend Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins. It has since become a landmark, with the New York Times reporting that thousands of fans flock to a road near the field where the tree stands each year, as the owners do not let visitors on their property.

The news of the oak’s July 22 topple in heavy winds has led some fans grieving on social media:

An official with the Mansfield/Richland Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jodie Snavely, told the Times that the tree is probably going to be removed since the area around it is farmed. It is not known what the landowners will do with the tree or for how long it will remain on its side.

In the iconic movie scene, Red looks at the note left for him that reads: “Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”