SNELLVILLE, Ga. — For well over 200 years, it's stood above the land that would one day become Snellville. In fact, the red oak was about 136 years old when the city was founded.
So it's with a touch of sadness that the city announced on its website that attempts to save the tree by the city and the state department of transportation alike had failed - and that it would soon be coming down.
To the most recent generations, it's the unmistakable giant that sits along Highway 78 near Autobell Car Wash. It has no doubt been a fixture with historic significance since long before.
However, according to an announcement posted by city spokesperson Brian Arrington, state arborists had discovered signs that the tree was becoming hollow - rotting on the inside. So, those long, tall limbs that comprise such a significant part of this small town highway skyline were in danger of falling on drivers and pedestrians.
"In recent years, GDOT and the city have made attempts to save the oak by minimizing disturbances to the soil around the roots and routing utilities on the other side of Main Street," the city wrote.
Arrington also quoted historian Jim Cofer regarding the tree that itself had become a living piece of history.
“It would have likely been a sapling when members of the Lower Creek Native American tribe roamed the Snellville area,” Cofer wrote.
In fact, the tree includes a plaque from 1987 that harkens back to one major historical event that happened during its lifetime.
It reads:
"The National Arborist Association and the International Society of Arboriculture jointly recognize this significant tree in this bicentennial year as having lived here at the time of the signing of our Constitution."
The significance of the oak isn't lost on those who know of it - even those who may not have gotten close enough to read that proclamation. That's one reason why the city's public works department and historical society are planning to work together to preserve pieces of the tree and keep its legacy alive.
The falling of the two-century-old oak was set to begin on Monday and continue into the next day.
