The Boyington Oak: Mobile’s Most Famous Ghost Story

The short version: The Boyington Oak is a large oak tree growing near the Church Street Graveyard in downtown Mobile, tied to the city’s most famous ghost story. In 1834, a young man named Charles Boyington was hanged for the murder of his friend Nathaniel Frost, a crime he swore he did not commit. From the gallows he promised that an oak would grow from his grave to prove his innocence. The tree grew, it still stands today, and people report strange sounds near it.

Mobile is the most haunted city in Alabama, and from the moment Europeans set foot on our soil in 1699 this place has unsettled people. But one story from 1834 might be the most bizarre in all of Mobile’s history. It has friendship, a love story, murder, an execution, and a tree. What ties all of that together? One man, Charles Boyington.

Who was Charles Boyington?

Charles Boyington was a young printer, vagabond, and gambler in his late teens who came to Mobile from Connecticut chasing prosperity during the cotton boom of the 1830s. He lived in a boarding house alongside a coworker named Nathaniel Frost, and the two of them went to dances and balls trying to fit in with Mobile’s high society. One evening Charles met a wealthy young woman named Rose de Fleur and fell hard. He wrote her poetry, thought about her all day, so much that it cost him his job. Her father, of course, did not approve of a poor newspaperman courting his daughter. Meanwhile, Charles cared for Nathaniel through a bout of tuberculosis, and Nathaniel helped cover his rent in return.

What happened to Nathaniel Frost?

On the afternoon of May 10, 1834, Boyington and Frost went for a walk, and Mobilians saw the two of them together near the Church Street Graveyard. Boyington came back alone around 3:30, in a hurry, telling people he could not wait around for Frost. He stopped at a general store, bought a pair of pistols and a dagger, and at 8pm boarded the James Monroe bound for Montgomery. The next morning, locals woke to find Nathaniel Frost hanging from a tree, covered in gashes and blood. The papers screamed murder, and the mayor put up a 250 dollar reward.

The trial and the promise from the gallows

Boyington was the obvious suspect. Officers chased down the steamship on the Alabama River and found him in the ladies’ room studying a card player’s hand. They hauled him back to Mobile to a crowd shouting for his death. A quick trial with incompetent lawyers found him guilty, and he was sentenced to hang, the same brutal end as Frost. Boyington was certain a pardon would come. It never did. Standing on the gallows, he made his famous declaration: he was innocent, and to prove it, an oak tree with a hundred roots would grow from his grave. He was buried just off Bayou Avenue in downtown Mobile, and exactly as he promised, the Boyington Oak grew there. It still stands today, and people who walk past it hear strange noises near the tree to this day. Was he guilty? Stand under that oak and decide for yourself.

Stand Under the Boyington Oak Yourself

This is the story I love telling most, and it hits different when you are standing right where it happened, in the dark, with the Church Street Graveyard at your back. Our Bites and Frights tour is the only haunted food tour in the country, and it brings you to the Boyington Oak and many more of Mobile’s haunted landmarks, with bites and haunted cocktails along the way. It is our most popular tour and October fills up fast. Book your spot → You can also explore all 12 haunted places in Mobile in our full guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Boyington Oak in Mobile, Alabama?

The Boyington Oak is an oak tree near the Church Street Graveyard in downtown Mobile. According to legend, it grew from the grave of Charles Boyington, who was hanged in 1834 for a murder he insisted he did not commit and who promised an oak would grow from his grave to prove his innocence.

Who was Charles Boyington?

Charles Boyington was a young printer who came to Mobile from Connecticut in the 1830s. He was convicted and executed in 1834 for the murder of his friend Nathaniel Frost, despite maintaining his innocence to the end.

Is the Boyington Oak really haunted?

Local legend holds that the Boyington Oak is haunted, with visitors reporting strange noises near the tree. It is one of the most famous ghost stories in Mobile and a stop on the city’s haunted food tours.

Written by Chris Andrews, founder of Bienville Bites Food Tour, author of A Culinary History of Mobile, and host of the Port City Plate Podcast. Chris leads Mobile’s food and haunted tours and has told these stories on the city’s streets for years.