Hedwig Village residents mobilize to keep 200-year-old oak tree from being cut down

Dwayne Mollard is astounded every time he looks at the massive oak tree across the street from his home in Hedwig Village. Its branches tower high above his neighbor’s home, and from a certain perspective, seem to envelop the house on the corner lot on Constance in this west Harris County enclave. But Mollard, as others in the community, is now worried about the future of tree. The property owner, they recently learned, has designs to tear it down to make room for a new house. Early Friday, Hedwig Village police officers were parked across the street from the property after reports circulated that the oak was coming down. No bulldozers arrived. Mollard hopes they never do.

The tree has historical significance for the architect. An arborist examined it for him and estimated it to be about 200 years old — from around the same time American settlers were first arriving in Texas in 1823. “To me that tree represents the birth of Texas,” he said. “So it’s very emotional.” When Mollard first became aware of the potential demise of the community’s beloved oak, he started to work on a project he hoped would provide a solution for everyone. He has a similar tree on his property. The architect designed a plan that incorporates and preserves the tree while maintaining the same square footage the property owner was aiming to develop. He sent it to Saad Masrur, who represents the property owner with HAS Construction and Consulting. “I let him have those drawings to what the layout was,” Mollard said, adding he rearranged the design to work around the trees. After what he thought was initial interest, Mollard never heard back.