The Volusia Oak

There is an old oak tree standing as a silent sentinal on the banks of the St Johns River at the Astor Bridge (SR 40).   I have been driving past this tree for many years and always give it a nod as I pass.  

I don't know exactly how old it is but three hundred  years is not a stretch.  The tree commands respect on its own right.

In 1562 a French Huguenot colony was established at the present site of Astor on the St. Johns River. The entire colony was wiped out by the Spanish is 1566 and a mission was established. While Exploring the St. John's River in early 1596, Don Pedro  Menendez made the following notes into his diary: "We found the third village of the savages on the West bank, halfway between a very big lake and a smaller one farther up stream on a likable spot in the shade of formidable trees.  John Bartram and his son William spent time here in 1765. William Bartram came back in 1774. In his subsequent book "TRAVELS", William Bartram devoted 72 pages to describing the area in vivid and colorful detail, such as "this blessed land where the gods have amassed into one heap all the flowering plants, birds, fish and other wildlife of two continents in order to turn the rushing streams, the silent lake shores and the awe-abiding woodlands of this mysterious land into a true garden of eden." Moses Levy established a plantation and colony for persecuted European Jews here. but it was burned down in 1838 during the 2nd Seminole War.

Soldiers of the second seminole war always camped under the oak.  This was actually the historic location of Fort Barnwell, Fort Columbia and Fort Call. ( across the river was Fort Butler)  .

You can see the St Johns River bridge in the background.  This place is a historic river crossing since the big slow Welaka River (river of lakes) is not wide here. It didn't become the St Johns until the British occupation. 

This is a big tree .  It's shelter is very inviting.

Over the many years the Volusia Oak has graced us with abundant shade and oxygen. As we know Oxygen and shade are two of the best of all things.

Stand tall big tree.  You are one of my favorites and deserve the respect of all from the past and in the future.  Ahhh . . . The stories you could tell.