Council Grove ? The remnants of a historic oak tree that once served as a landmark on the Santa Fe Trail in Kansas have been cut down.

But residents plan to preserve a section of the trunk and display it where the tree once stood.

The tree in Council Grove was about 290 years old. It once stood 80 feet tall in a campground for travelers along the trail. According to historical records, travelers used it as a “post office” from the 1820s to the 1840s, storing messages for future travelers in a cavity at the tree’s base.

The tree was declared dead in 1990, and most of its branches had been removed. Since then, the 20-foot trunk has deteriorated, leaving it structurally unsound.

And on Tuesday, the Morris County Historical Society, which operates a museum nearby, had the oak cut down.

“It’s rotted away from the bottom up,” said Helen Judd, a historical society board member.

Judd said the lower section, weighing about a ton, will be coated with a preservative that will make it as hard as cement before it is put on display. Dave Cosgrove, the historical society’s president, estimated the cost of the project would be at least $15,000.

The top half of the trunk, weighing about 2,700 pounds, may be cut into pieces and sold as souvenirs, Judd said.

Kim Bomberger, district forester with the Kansas Forest Service, said she had recommended removing the tree to protect public safety. The tree lost its structural strength because its bark and wood became “soft and punky,” she said. The trunk also had deep cracks.

Once the tree was removed, Cosgrove used a pitchfork to clear dead bark and decaying wood and discovered a large hole where the tree had stood. The hole was deep enough to swallow his pitchfork.

“It’s as bad off as we thought or maybe even worse,” he said.