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THE GOOSE
ISLAND OAK
aka The Big
Tree
aka The Bishop's Tree
aka The Lamar Oak
Goose
Island State Park
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The
Big Tree
Photo courtesy Ken Rudine, 2006 |
Texas'
largest tree is found on the Lamar Peninsula of Aransas
County in the Goose Island State Park.
Estimated to be 1,000 years old, the tree can disappoint visitors
who had been imagining a Giant Sequoia. Our tip for visitors who don't
want to be disappointed:
Don't visualize Giant Sequoias. |
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"Largest
Loveoak of the World, Rockport, Texas."
Postcard
courtesy rootsweb.com/
~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html |
The
tree has allegedly been a hanging tree, a pirate's rendezvous, and
even a ceremonial site for the cannibalistic Karankawa Indians.
Record or Champion Trees are determined by their girth, their spread
and their height. There are many Live Oaks that surpass this tree's
height, however when the tree's girth is factored in, it makes this
one the Champion Live Oak in Texas.
In 1966 the tree had a circumference of over 35 feet, was 44 feet
tall with a spread of 90 feet. The state's second largest Live Oak
is in Columbus,
Texas. |
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The
Big Tree AKA The Goose Island Oak
Photo by John Troesser August 2003 |
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The
trees immediately to the right (East) of the Big Tree
Photo by John Troesser August 2003 |
Directions:
Leaving Fulton,
heading N and crossing over the Copano Bay bridge, the first right
will be Park Road 13. This will connect with Lamar Beach Road that
can take you to the tree. Signage is adequate for finding your way
there after leaving Highway 35, and depending on the time of day or
the season, you may encounter deer on the narrow, densely shaded and
flowered road.
While visiting the tree, you might consider visiting the picturesque
Lamar Cemetery
- shown on detailed TxDoT maps. Lamar
was a town named after the Republic of Texas' second President that
held great promise in the 1830s. Lamar is included in More Ghost
Towns of Texas by T. Lindsey Baker, University of Oklahoma Press,
2003.
©
John Troesser
More Photos by Ken
Rudine |
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