Sentinel on the Bluff

Sentinel on the Bluff. Bur Oak - Querous Macrocarpa. Circa 1499 - This bur oak takes root. , c. mid/late 1600's - French explorers tour this region inhabited by Peoria Native Americans. , c. 1750's - Early surveys by European setters include reference to this tree. , c. 1850's - Dr. and Mrs. E. H. Bradley acquire land upon which tree stands. , c. 1930's - Bradley family purchases adjoining backlot, has large house razed to allow tree's roots to grow unhampered. , 1960's - Efforts of Bradley family descendants, Peoria City Beautiful and Peoria Park District make possible the purchase of the property to save the oak tree.
1971 - Tree site purchased by Peoria Park District, site illuminated. , 1974 - Giant Oak Park - official name of tree site. , 1976 - For having lived during the American Revolutionary Period the tree is designated a “Bicentennial Tree” by the International Society of Arboriculture and Nation Arborist Association. , 1976-1977 - “Frankie Acorn” (Frank Hanbury, Jr.) collects 200 acorns from the tree and plants them in four western states. , 1991 - The Giant Oak Tee is designated Peoria's “Tricentennial Tree” in recognition of its three hundred years of age; beginning of seed propagation project by Illinois Department of Conservation and Peoria Urban Forestry Board. , 1992-1993 - Peoria City Beautiful, City of Peoria, and the Peoria Park District, through deed of land transfer, private to public ownership, secure the eastward expansion of the tree's root system. Peoria Park District owns/maintains Gian Oak Park. , 1994 - Dimensions of Giant Oak: 50 feet high; 110 foot spread; 54.5 inch trunk diameter. , “To the brave old oak tree, Cheers! , Remember, the mighty oak from a small acorn grows.” , Marked as a historically and botanically significant tree by the , Illinois State Organization , National Society Daughters of the American Revolution , Mrs. John P. Fixmer, III, State Regent , 1995.