The Big Oak is a large live oak (Quercus virginiana) located in Thomasville, Georgia, in the United States at the corner of Crawford Street and Monroe Street. The Big Oak is one of many historic landmarks located in Thomasville. The Big Oak was one of the earliest trees registered with the Live Oak Society. Registered by P.C. Andrews in 1936, the Big Oak was the forty-ninth live oak registered. At the time of registration, the Big Oak’s girth was 21 feet 6 inches.
The Big Oak dates back to circa 1680, which makes it one of the oldest live oaks in the country. The Thomasville live oak has been recognized several times for its long lifespan by various societies, including the International Society for Agriculture in 1987. The tree has been able to withstand human encroachment for centuries, and remains a major landmark in Thomasville today.
The property on which the tree stands was once owned by Mr. and Mrs. John Albert Chastain. The Chastain family owned this property from 1906 until the mid-1960s. The Chastains raised their family in a home under this large live oak for nearly sixty years. Mr. Chastain’s mother remembers a time when the Big Oak was standing in a pond, rather than the lot Mr. Chastain remembers.
In 1966, Mrs. Elisabeth Ireland Poe and the city of Thomasville, purchased the property and turned it into a public park. Mrs. Poe was famous in Thomasville for her ownership of Pebble Hill Plantation from 1936 until her death 1978. Mrs. Poe was dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of Thomasville and thus purchased the property along with the city. Also in 1966, a donation of a historic Victorian-style gazebo was made by Mrs. Otto Carter of Meigs, Georgia. This type of gazebo is a rare find in the present day, unless it has been re-fabricated in the Victorian Style. Estimates in 1968 by Thomasville architect Robert Jinright indicated that the cost of building such a gazebo would reach $10,000. The gazebo was restored and remains a focal point of the property today. At a 1969 Commission meeting, a proposal was made by the Thomasville Garden Club to allocate a $5,000 fund, known as the Walter Hildebrand fund, to the beautification of the property. After a unanimous decision by the Board to appropriate the funds, the Garden Center used the money to construct a lattice-work brick wall on two sides of the property. This wall is referred to by members of the community as "The Living Wall."
The lot on which the Big Oak stands was dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Elisabeth Ireland Poe on February 7, 1982 by the city of Thomasville. The Big Oak once received a distinguished visitor in 1958. On a hunting visit to Thomasville with colleague George M. Humphrey, Dwight Eisenhower stopped by to take a photograph of the tree on his way to the airport. The President reportedly asked his driver to stop while he took a photograph. He then exited the vehicle, stood on the porch of Mrs. Rudolph Keyton, took his photograph and returned to his car.
As of 2019, the spread of the tree is 169 feet, the height is 72 feet, and the circumference of the trunk is 27.9 feet.
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| The Big Oak in 2019. |
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