The Only Surviving Witness To The Birth of Jacksonville | Sports & Recreation

Woodman, spare that tree!
Touch not a single bough!
In youth it sheltered me,
And I’ll protect it now.
George Pope Morris, 1860

 Jacksonville Florida’s famous Treaty Oak is the only attraction remaining of the once famous Dixieland Park amusement complex. Dwarfed while standing beside Jacksonville, Florida’s famous Treaty Oak tree (Southern Live Oak), one can almost hear the sounds of people screaming, people laughing and carnival ride noises emanating from the area that once occupied the property surrounding this enormous arboreal wonder (*Quercus* *virginiana*). The tree is the outcome of an errant acorn blown to its location by wind or dropped by a bird.  It is hard to imagine something so small could result in something so tremendously huge.

“The Giant Oak,” as it was known for one hundred years or more, is located in Treaty Oak Park on the Southbank, bordered by Main Street and the St. Johns River.  Even at the ripe old age of 200, 250 or as some suggest 300 years old, one can still touch, climb on or just picnic under a tree that has withstood the entire history of Jacksonville, Florida (founded 1832).  Actually, Treaty Oak (1760) sprouted 16 years before the founding of our country and 31 years before Cowford (1791-1832), as Jacksonville was previously known.

With a circumference of nearly 24 1/2 feet and limbs stretching out like octopus limbs from its trunk over 30 yards east and 30 yards west, the tree is massive.  A spectator cannot help but call this survivor of the past magnificent.

In fact, since the invention of still photography, many citizens of Jacksonville and hundreds of thousands of visitors have posed with this proud old photogenic natural monstrosity.  Images captured at the turn of the 19th century show small homes built directly under Treaty Oak’s canopy. If you look closely enough, small light bulbs are visible. These were part of the early electrical display in 1907, which attracted many tourists who were interested in seeing the illuminated Treaty Oak and the new futuristic advancement known as electrical lighting.

 

During this period, a bronze plaque attached directly to the tree contained the following statement:

 

The oldest and largest tree in Florida, 160 feet across under the branches. At noon, it shades a space of 190 feet in diameter. Students of forestry say it is over 400 years old. The body of the tree is over 9 feet in circumference. It was Osceola’s favorite campground and was generally used for Indian councils of war.

 THIS STORY IS A PORTION OF A SELECTED WORK FROM  "A SIMPLER TIME IN JACKSONVILLE" SERIES WRITTEN BY JOE MILLER.  To read the entire story from A SIMPLER TIME IN JACKSONVILLE SERIES,  visit href="http://www.milleronsports.com/2012/01/only-surviving-witness-to-birth-of.html"  THE IMAGE OF TREATY OAK AT THE TOP OF THIS ARTICLE IS AN ASSEMBLY OF OVER 250 PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE ACTUAL TREE WITH HAND DRAWN LEAVES CREATED BY JOE MILLER.  LIMITED EDITION PRINTS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. JOE@APPWRIGHT.COM