This oak  tree was over 200 years old when it died. It was killed by a lightening strike several years ago. The prior land owner had  the upper part trimmed, but that still left a trunk skeleton that was 40 ft tall. 

We had the trunk cut down soon after we bought the house. The tree cutter gave a bid but said it would cost more if he happened to hit a cannonball in the process. I laughed, thinking he was joking. He wasn't. He said that many older trees had metal -- and not uncommon a cannon ball -- imbedded in the trunk. Apparently it was a common place years ago to store such things in the crotch of an oak tree. If left there the tree would grow around the object. The tree was big during the Civil War period, and grew quite a bit since then.