STATE PARK WONDER

Mighty Oak

Goose Island’s Big Tree is a steadfast survivor.

by Eva Frederick

The Big Tree at Goose Island has, according to legend and word of mouth, served as a ceremonial place for the Karankawa people, a shady spot to milk cows and a rendezvous for pirates. Today, the Big Tree serves as a symbol of resilience to nearby communities, and a marker by which generations of Texans have measured their own growth.   

“It’s a spot where people can gather and come together,” says Sara Rock, a park interpreter at Goose Island. “People know this tree, and love it.”

The Big Tree is a Virginia live oak (Quercus virginiana). It stands at an impressive 44 feet tall, and its twisting branches span a diameter of 90 feet. The circumference of its trunk is 36 feet around — you’d need a group of more than seven people to give it a hug. (Visitors cannot hug or climb the Big Tree for its protection, but nearby, another giant tree, nicknamed Picture Tree, welcomes people to get up close and take a photo on its massive branches.)

For a few decades, the Big Tree held the title of Texas State Champion Live Oak. It was even featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Other Texas oaks have since surpassed it physically, although the Big Tree’s sentimental value still looms large.

Arborists estimate that the tree could be up to 800 years old. Although it doesn’t grow much anymore, it continues to produce acorns regularly. The park gives the tree a little help in its old age; employees have installed a lightning rod to protect it in storms and provided metal brackets on which the tree rests its gnarled elbows. When severe drought strikes, an irrigation system helps water the Big Tree.

The tree’s steadfastness is a source of comfort in the community, especially when tragedy strikes. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm, passed directly over the park.

“One of the first things people worried about was, ‘Is the Big Tree still there?’” Rock recalls. “Luckily, it was.”

Time is relative; the rate at which it passes depends on your frame of reference. For many, the Big Tree helps put things into perspective. A couple who visited the tree on their first date came back 50 years later, and remarked on how the tree looked the same. Over its centuries of existence, the Big Tree has stood witness to countless families growing up.

“It’s kind of a generational thing,” says Rock. “A lot of people would take family pictures here, and then when their kids grew up and had their own families, they’d come back and take pictures, too.”

If you visit, consider starting a new tradition of photos with Goose Island’s giant oak — your grandchildren might thank you for it.