What was left of the famous "Shawshank Tree" that was once located in Mansfield is now at the center of a civil lawsuit.
The tree was featured in a key scene of "The Shawshank Redemption" when Morgan Freeman’s character, “Red,” a former prisoner on parole, discovers a letter hidden nearby by Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins). The scene featuring the tree is said to take place in Buxton, Maine — when in actuality it was filmed more than 800 miles away.
That tree stood strong for more than two centuries, but after getting hit by several storms, it was taken down several years ago.
Now, a big portion of the wood that's left over may be lost forever.
“There's only one Shawshank tree. And it's a finite amount of wood,” said attorney Robert Vecchio. “But a big portion of what he had is now gone forever.”
The tree, made famous by the 1994 film, quickly became a tourist attraction in Richland County.
Film fanatics came from all over just to see the 200-year-old oak at the Malabar Farm State Park.
But when severe storms caused erosion and damage, the co-owners of the Mansfield property where the tree was located decided to get creative.
“My client took that and started a business of having the wood turned into commemorative items,” Vecchio said.
Replica hammers, pens, plaques. You name it— they made it.
But now, it's become that much harder to keep up with demand.
According to a lawsuit filed in Richland County Common Pleas Court, the co-owners of the property made an agreement with a Perrysville sawmill.
The deal was for the sawmill to cut up pieces of the tree to get it ready to be made into souvenirs.
But the lawsuit alleges the wood handed over to the sawmill was destroyed.
The attorney for the property says while they haven't placed an exact dollar value on what was lost, he believes it was worth up to six figures.
It’s a big blow to the property owners and those hoping to get their hands on a piece of film history.
“This was a big deal in Northeast Ohio. This movie, in the fact that it was filmed in Mansfield…it's a big deal in Mansfield,” Vecchio said.
News 5 reached out to the attorney representing the sawmill, but they declined to comment.
A hearing IS scheduled for Thursday in Richland County Common Pleas Court.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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