Georgia’s Champion Tree – The Tree That Owns Itself has a wonderful history.
By Julia Milano
Trees are precious and those containing history are even more so. Arkansas has bestowed the classification “Champion” on a very special group of historically significant trees.
In Athens, Georgia, there is a tree that owns itself. Its limbs stretch from one side of the road to the other. A man named William H. Jackson deeded the white oak and eight feet of land on all sides of it to itself. Jackson loved the tree so much that more than a century ago, he bequeathed the tree with property rights so it might control its own destiny. The deed proclaiming this unique ownership can no longer be located, and the only remaining documentation of the tree’s legal status is a newspaper article that appeared in 1890, but the concept of the tree having its own legal personhood has saved it from disaster countless times.
In 1942, the original tree believed to be around 400 years old was toppled by high winds. Four years later, local citizens planted a sapling grown from one of its acorns and have nurtured the tree ever since. While the tree belongs to itself, there is a strong sense of shared ownership among Athens’ residents who remove fallen branches and leaves and continue to breed saplings from its acorns.
Trees are not meant to live alone and when a tree loses the companionship of the forest, it faces increased danger from wind and lack of nourishment. Locals have stepped in to become a support system, laying mulch at its base and installing rods to protect it from lightning. Depending on humans to be its forest, The Tree That Owns Itself is a profound reminder of the interdependence that connects humans and nature. The vulnerability of this single tree has inspired people to care and serves as a beautiful reminder that we are not separate from our environment.
Advanced Garland County Master Gardener, Julia Milano, volunteers with GC Master Gardeners of the UofA Div. of Agriculture, Cooperative Ext. Service. Master Gardeners pool skills and resources to improve home horticulture, stimulate interest in plants and gardening, and encourage beautification. For more information, call 501-623-6841 or email adykes@uaex.edu. The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. Editors Note: Visit www.lindawilliamspalmer.com to learn more about the wonderful history of Arkansas’s very own Champion Trees, researched, documented, and painted by Linda Williams Palmer, a Hot Springs artist.
