Angel Oak

Angel Oak is a Southern live oak located in Angel Oak Park on Johns Island near Charleston, South Carolina. Angel Oak is 1,500 years old. It stands 66.5 ft tall, measures 28 ft in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet . Its longest branch distance is 187 ft. in length. Angel Oak was the 210th tree to be registered with the Live Oak Society.The tree stands on land that was part of Abraham Waight's 1717 land grant.The oak derives its name from the estate of Justus Angel and his wife, Martha Waight Tucker Angel. Local folklore tells stories of ghosts of former slaves appearing as angels around the tree.Despite the popular belief that Angel Oak is the oldest tree east of the Mississippi River, many bald cypress trees are found throughout the South which are many hundreds of years older. The Angel Oak tree is featured prominently in the book The Heart of A Child by Emily Nelson.HistoryAngel Oak was damaged severely during Hurricane Hugo in 1989 but has since recovered. The City of Charleston has owned the tree and surrounding park since 1991.Development is beginning to encroach on the site of Angel Oak. In 2012, plans to build a 500-unit apartment complex that would be from Angel Oak were challenged in court by a group called Save the Angel Oak and the Coastal Conservation League; their concerns included the construction's effect on available groundwater and nutrients. By December, 2013, another South Carolina nonprofit celebrated "the preservation of 17 acres adjacent to the majestic tree."