Jacksonville, Florida: Treaty Oak
Treaty Oak's great age and size were not going to be enough to save it from developers -- so a sympathetic newspaperman fabricated a noble history. That did the trick.
Jessie Ball duPont Park
- Address:
- 1123 Prudential Drive, Jacksonville, FL
- Directions:
- Jessie Ball duPont Park. Just south of the river, on the northeast corner of US Hwy 90/Prudential Drive and Main St.
- Admission:
- Free
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Treaty Oak is 250-300 years old.
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From 1907 until the 1930s the Treaty Oak was known simply as "Giant Oak" and was part of an amusement complex named Dixieland Park. Then the park closed. The city wanted to cut down the tree and turn the park into office buildings. But local newspaperman Pat Moran liked the tree, so he published a bogus story that white settlers and Seminole Indians had met under the tree to sign their first and only peace treaty. He called the tree "Treaty Oak," and its new name and fantasy reputation saved it.