Famous Trees of Texas - Crossroads
Encountering a junction, one looks for a sign to determine which direction to take. The sign may be a traditional road sign, the sun, a landmark or even a tree. We use these signs to help us get our bearings and know that we are on the right path.
Throughout history these trees have been used as a marker to pave the way for paths across Texas.
Rio Frio Landmark Oak
This ancient live oak, known as the Rio Frio Landmark Oak, has more than a passing claim to fame. Not only is it a giant among trees, with few peers in its species, but it is a bearing point from which all land in the town of Rio Frio is planted.
In 1866, a partnership known as the Lombardy Trading Company was formed and began digging an irrigation ditch near the mouth of Flat Creek, about six miles south of the present town of Leakey. In the shadow of this landmark oak, the company built the Lombardy Academy.
By 1871, the Academy had 52 students and was considered the finest private school west of San Antonio. Until the school was moved to a new, two-story building across the street in 1904, the old schoolhouse, nestled behind this oak, was the social, religious, educational and political center of Rio Frio.
The old schoolhouse and the settlers are gone, but this ancient live oak, which has withstood centuries of drought, flood and other natural adversities, stands as a monument to the development of the Frio Canyon and to one of the oldest irrigation projects still operating in Texas. Learn more about the Rio Frio Landmark Oak here.
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Half-Way Oak
Thirteen miles south of Breckenridge, a gnarled, old live oak stands sentry on the windswept plains. The only visible tree for miles, the tree’s name tells its location: roughly halfway between Breckenridge to the north and Cisco to the south, as well as a halfway rest stop on the original Fort Griffin to Stephenville stagecoach passage, the Half-Way Oak stands tall.
Fort Griffin, established in 1867, was one of a string of frontier forts built to defend settlers against hostile Indians and outlaws. During the oil boom of the 1920s, thousands of prospectors poured into Breckenridge.
Early photographs of the area show little but wooden oil derricks on the horizon. The oil boom brought railroads and the tracks for one line were laid less than 200 feet west of the tree. Today the tracks are long gone, as is the oil boom, but the venerable Half-Way Oak still stands.
In the 1970s the tree was scheduled to be removed for the widening of US Highway 183, but the citizens of Breckenridge banded together in a modern version of frontier spirit, refusing to allow the tree to be cut. Instead, a few picnic tables and a nice highway pull-off were added, allowing the Half-Way Oak to continue to provide a lovely respite for travelers. Read more about the Half-Way Oak here.
Old Baldy
May in Texas is the height of thunderstorm season, and it can already be sweltering hot. However, it was in 1716, it made the shelter of trees a welcome respite. Three hundred years later, Old Baldy, a towering bald cypress tree, alive and available for refuge then, still stands sentry along the creek not far from where they must have camped in what is now McKinney Falls State Park.
El Camino Real, the highway through Central Texas towards Louisiana, saw a lot of traffic in the early eighteenth century. Spanish Franciscan missionary efforts had turned to East Texas in 1690 and they founded San Francisco de los Tejas just west of the Neches River. Three East Texas missions established in 1716 were temporarily abandoned in 1719, restored in 1721 through another expedition, moved in 1730 to a site on the Colorado River now in Zilker Park in Austin and finally reestablished on the San Antonio River in 1731.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people and animals were required to establish and move these missions. A granite outcropping near the confluence of the creeks still shows faint swales and ancient hoof marks that indicate the frequent passage of large expeditions. Today McKinney Falls State Park continues to host many visitors who appreciate the cool water, shady woodlands, and Old Baldy. Read more about the Old Baldy tree here.
Wedding Oak
Deep in the heart of Texas, quite near the state's geographical center, stands a beautiful live oak, commonly called the Wedding Oak, from which many interesting legends have arisen.
If asked, San Saba romantics may refer to the tree as the “Matrimonial Altar,” the “Marriage Oak,” the “Matrimonial Oak” or the “Wedding Oak.” Long before the Spanish invaded this rich San Saba River bottomland, where native pecans grow in profusion, Indian braves and shy Indian maidens met and were united in wedlock, as local legend has it, beneath this oak's sheltering boughs. Later, in horse-and-buggy days, the tree was a popular spot for matrimonially inclined residents of the area to visit and exchange pledges and marriage vows.
The Matrimonial Oak is just outside the city limits of San Saba, on the east side of China Creek Road, about half a mile south of the San Saba River, which courses north until it empties into the Colorado. Learn more about the Wedding Oak here.
Borden Oak
Most trees get taller as they grow older, but the Borden Oak has lost about five feet in height. After the Great Galveston Storm of 1900, one of the worst natural disasters in our country's history, engineers agreed that two major tasks had to be undertaken: a massive seawall had to be built along the Gulf front and the grade level of the island had to be raised. This giant oak is one of the few trees that survived both the storm and the grade raising.
At the time of the Great Storm, the tree was the property of Thomas Henry Borden. When the grade raising began, he had a dike constructed about it to keep the salty fill from poisoning the tree. He hauled fresh water in, which kept the salt washed out of the seepage that crept in. After the grade leveling was completed, the well around the tree trunk gradually filled. It is difficult to believe that the base of the tree is about 5 feet below the present ground level, but it is.
In 1972 when a new home was planned for the lot where the tree stands, the Galveston Historical Foundation purchased a permanent deed restriction from the new owner to protect the tree from damage or destruction. Read more about the Borden Oak here.
Center Oak
In the 1870s, a land survey supposedly located the geographical center of the state at a small settlement called Hughes Store. The name of the town was later changed to Center City, as it remains, and this live oak, located in the center of the town, was designated the Center Oak.
When Mills County was created in 1887 many believed that Center City would be the county seat and a 50-acre townsite was platted around a square reserved for the courthouse. The town developed into a populous commercial center. According to accounts by early settlers, the Center Oak provided shade for early court sessions, until a courthouse could be built, and the area beneath its spreading branches served as a church and temporary school.
In the early 1930s, when State Highway 7 between Goldthwaite and Gatesville was to be widened, construction called for removing the old oak. But local sentiment had its way, and the highway department relented and moved the roadway to the north to spare the tree.
The Center Oak tree died in 2011 and all that remains of Center City is a small combination general store and service station, a historic lodge building, a few scattered homes and this memorial, which marks the spot once designated as the center of Texas. Click here to read more about the Center Oak.
Tannahill Oak
In 1874 Robert Watt Tannahill quarried and cut stones from nearby creek beds to build a house that would serve the frontier west of Fort Worth in numerous ways. With walls up to twenty inches thick and trees providing shade, the hilltop Tannahill homestead was a welcome and sheltering place.
Although Tannahill operated a cattle and horse ranch, he was involved in many facets of frontier life. He acted as county judge when the presiding judge resigned to join the Confederate Army. Tannahill was also appointed postmaster in 1878 and his front room became Tannahill Post Office.
The second story of the house was periodically used as a medical clinic, where Tannahill’s neighbor, Dr. Wood, tended to patients. The homestead also served as a stagecoach stop, known as Tannahill Station. The horses had a long pull to the top of the hill to stop beneath the large live oak near the house while they waited for mail to be delivered, passengers to board or just to let folks living on the edge of the wild west to visit awhile.
The Tannahill Oak remains along the drive today, welcoming modern visitors to the homestead. Learn more about the Tannahill Oak here.
Landmark Cottonwood
This gigantic eastern cottonwood, known as the Landmark Cottonwood, stands near the famous Military and Stageline Trail on the South Canadian River and served for centuries as an important landmark for Indians, pioneers, buffalo hunters and military units who traveled this part of the Texas Panhandle prior to 1890.
For centuries the area surrounding this landmark was dominated by Indians. Later it was shared by hunters who sought the hides and meat of the buffalo. By 1874, the increased frequency of raids on the settlements by fierce plains Indians caused the U. S. Government to establish a fort about thirty-three miles south of this cottonwood. Fort Elliott was the first permanent settlement in the Texas Panhandle. Early-stage drivers and buffalo hunters were guided by this giant cottonwood to a safe crossing on the Canadian.
In those early days, when physical comforts were few and far between, the Landmark Cottonwood was a welcome sight to the plainsmen when they reined their steeds at the top of a distant hill and saw the crown of green leaves of the Landmark Cottonwood shimmering under a blazing Texas sun.
The Landmark Cottonwood is in the Black Kettle National Grasslands on the east side of Lake Marvin. Read more about the Landmark Cottonwood here.
Century Tree
Walk under the boughs of the Century Tree with a lover and you will be together forever: so, goes the tradition at Texas A&M University.
Many an Aggie skirts the spot, while others seek every chance to visit this immense live oak. Large drooping branches rest on the ground, providing ample opportunity for young co-eds to linger with hope for the future. The Century Tree, likely planted around the turn of the twentieth century, has been the site of numerous marriage proposals, weddings and photographs over the years. It is considered a symbol of strength and loyalty on a campus known for its rich heritage.
Traditions abound at Texas A&M, the first public institute of higher education in Texas as well as one of the nation’s earliest land-grant colleges. From Silver Taps and Aggie Muster that honor deceased students to the Twelfth Man—Aggies who stand ready for service— “there’s a Spirit can ne’er be told” in Aggieland. As the college has grown from just 40 students to over 70,000, so has the land. No longer the bald prairie of 1876, Texas A&M University is now a lush campus of 5,500 acres.
Colleges grow, people grow, trees grow. The Century tree, once a sapling now a majestic icon, symbolizes the enduring bonds of the university as well as those forged under the boughs of the tree. The tree can be found on the Texas A&M University campus between the Academic Building and Bolton Hall. Read more about the Century Tree here.
Heart O’Texas Oak
The Heart O’Texas Oak, near the town of Mercury, has attracted attention because it is located at the exact geographical center of the State of Texas. This location was determined by a U.S. Geodetic Survey, the results of which were published in 1922. Known widely as the Heart O’Texas Oak, it stands at a point whose coordinates divide the second largest state in the Union into four equal areas.
The tree is 437 miles from the state’s most westerly point on the Rio Grande above El Paso; 412 miles from the most northerly point in the northwest corner of the Panhandle near Texline; 401 miles from the most southerly point on the Rio Grande below Brownsville; and 341 miles from the most easterly point on the Sabine River near Burkeville. The maximum straight-line distance between borders is 801 miles from north to south and 773 miles from east to west.
The Heart O’Texas Oak is located on private property near the town of Mercury. Read more about the Heart O’Texas Oak here.
La Bahia Pecan
Overlooking the historic ferry crossing where the Navasota and Brazos rivers meet in the small community of Washington, the La Bahia Pecan likely germinated when a nut dropped from the saddlebags of a trader in the early 1800s.
As its name implies, the tree grew along La Bahia Road, a major trade route that originally served as an Indian trail through southern Texas and Louisiana. The route was known to Spanish explorers as early as 1690 when the Alonso De Leon expedition journeyed north from Mexico. In fact, DNA testing shows La Bahia Pecan is different from neighboring populations; it’s related to pecans from Tamaulipas, Mexico.
This pecan was just a young tree in March 1836, when a convention of Texans formally declared independence from Mexico and established the Republic of Texas. As the tree grew, so did the town. Washington — the capital of Texas from 1842-1845 — reached its peak population in 1856. When Washington town fathers refused the railroad, river transportation declined, and new roads went elsewhere. The once prosperous river port declined and was virtually abandoned by 1900.
Through the rise and fall, the La Bahia Pecan stood quietly offering shade, harbor and even food. Since the mid-twentieth century she has offered the same to a new kind of traveler – tourists visiting Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Find more about the La Bahia Pecan here.
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