Goose Island Oak Tree.. Aransas County.. Lamar, Texas
On the Texas gulf coast, protected from man but not from the elements of nature, is one of the largest live oak trees in Texas. In the 1960s, it was recognized by the organization American Forests as the largest live oak in the United States.
Legend has it that the Goose Island Oak was once a place where the cannibalistic Karankawas held councils and pagan ceremonies in which they devoured their enemies and even members of their own tribe. It is also referred to as a hanging tree and as a rendezvous of the fierce Comanche Indians.
Earlier visitors may have included the Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca in 1528 and Sieur de LaSalle in 1684. Governor Alonso de Leon, who came in 1689 to find LaSalle, found instead the ruins of St. Louis and rescued, from the Karankawas, the only three survivors of LaSalle's colony. Later visitors of the big tree have included famous people such as, Larry and Ginnie Burt and their trusty dog Sparky in December of 2009!!
The mammoth live oak is sometimes referred to as the “Bishop's Tree,” because a Catholic Bishop's home or chapel stood nearby in the abandoned town site of Lamar. The name “Lamar Oak” was probably derived from this town, which flourished in the 1830s.
In 2002 this former national champion live oak measured 340 inches in circumference, was 43 feet high and had a crown spread of 96 feet. Its age has never been accurately determined, but it is believed to be as much as 1,000 years old.
Ginnie, Sparky and I enjoy touring and exploring the many areas we travel in this great country of ours. The big oak tree we featured here, is one of many historic things we have been privileged to visit and observe. We enjoying sharing our experiences with you, as much has we do seeing them.
