Treaty Oak (Jacksonville, Florida)

Treaty Oak is an octopus-like Southern live oak ("Quercus virginiana") in Jacksonville, Florida. The name's origin is believed to be related to some local apocryphal stories about peace accords between Native Americans and Spanish or American settlers signed under its branches. The tree was immortalized by a Times Union journalist Pat Moran who, in an attempt to rescue it from destruction by developers, wrote an article claiming a treaty had been signed under its branches by native Floridians and early settlers. [http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM2X1D Waymarking dot com: Jessie Ball duPont Park - Jacksonville, FL] ]

The tree is located in Jessie Ball DuPont Park on the Southbank of downtown Jacksonville. The land was donated by the Alfred I. duPont Foundation in 1964 with the stipulation that it be used "only for a public park, one of the purposes of which is to preserve the ancient oak commonly known as the Treaty Oak...for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public". [ [http://www.jaxfountain.com/Original/oak.htm Friendship Fountain website: Treaty Oak info] ]

The trunk is over 25 feet in circumference, it rises to height of 70 feet, and its crown spreads over 145 feet, with twisting branches that bow to the ground and curl back up. The oak shades a roughly circular area, about 190 feet in diameter. Treaty Oak is over two centuries old and may be the single oldest living thing in Jacksonville, [http://www.downtownjacksonville.org/directory/detail/1909/ Downtown Jacksonville website: Treaty Oak Park] ] possibly predating the founding of the city by Isaiah Hart during the 1820s.

References

External links

* [http://www.jaxfountain.com/Original/oak.htm Treaty Oak Pictures]
* [http://apps2.coj.net/parksinternet/parkdetails.asp?parkid=70 City of Jacksonville Parks: Jessie Ball duPont Park]