Bark does not look like mulberry I have seen. Camera pictures can be deceiving as far as the split side goes
I've cut a lot of Locust over the years. I can't say I've worked on 20-year-old stuff. But, most times the bark falls off in huge pieces with old wood. If that bark survived the split it's probably not Locust. Most times when I split a round of Locust that's standing dead all of the bark pops off with the split. I'm wondering if it's Osage Orange. Wood is right, bark isn't far off. Being that old the bark would have lost that light tinge.
Now thats locust positive on right .that criscross furrow bark.. locust is one of best woods....left looks likeva couple trees I have in yard leaves are opate serrated.. looks like a type of ash.. blsck ash?
Is till think from that split that it is BL. Keep in mind that bark from a mature tree will look different from a tree that is younger.
The tree on the right is red mulberry. I lifted the picture from here http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=58
Ohh no! I sorry Oldspark The tree on the LEFT IN MY POST is red mulberry and the tree on the RIGHT in my post is black locust. I guess I had a bad case of C.R.I. when I wrote that post. (C.R.I. = Cranial Rectal Inversion)
The bark on the original photo is not black locust, this is the truth, I would NOT lie to you folks Black Locust bark looks exactly like pictured above on right. I have a few old Black Locust here, probably over a hundred years old, and the bark looks exactly like what's in the photo above, except it is thicker and more deeply furrowed, it is unmistakable in identification.
Give it the smell test. Black Locust has a bit of an unpleasant 'dirty socks' smell to it. Mulberry is supposed to smell nice. I think the bark is wrong for both though. I'm thinking Hedge, but I've never seen it in person, so that's just a guess based on pics.
I went out and took a pic a while back of this big ole black locust, then yesterday I was out past it again and took another pic just for kicks, shows the bark real good, deeply furrowed, I'm guessing this beastly tree is 80 to 100 years old.