So, the only story I know came from an elderly man who came into the shop. He claims that the site was an old farm homestead for generations. The tree was growing on top of a cleared hill next to the barn. The barn had chickens that would roost in the tree and as the tree grew, the branches were weighed down and shaped horizontally.

If this were true, then it could be said that once the forest started growing around the tree, the tree had to adapt and radically change the direction of its growth as it began competing for light from the surrounding foliage. Sound like malarkey? Tell me a better story! --The Spoke Easy