Angel Oak
Angel Oak is a Southern live oak ("Quercus virginiana") located in Angel Oak Park on Johns Island near Charleston, South Carolina. The tree is estimated to be 400-500 years old. It stands 66.5 ft (20 m) tall, measures 28 ft (8.5 m) in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet (1,600 m). Its longest branch distance is 187 ft in length. Angel Oak was the 210th tree to be registered with the Live Oak Society.
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.
Angelus Oaks, California
Angelus Oaks was initially called Camp Angelus. In 1849 there was a big gold strike in Holcomb Valley, north of Bear Valley and near the town that was later to become Big Bear. The only way to get supplies in and the gold out was by mule trains. The mule train traveled up the Santa Ana River Canyon, stopping overnight in Seven Oaks and then took a switch back trail (Clark's Grade...still visible on the mountain across from the Angelus Oaks Lodge) up to the gold fields. Eventually, a wagon road was built to replace the mule skinner trail. But, the Santa Ana River kept washing out the wagon road within the rugged canyon, and so another, better road, known as a 'Control Road', (because traffic was allowed to proceed one-way in each direction only, with controls stationed at each end) was built in nearby Mill Creek Canyon. The "Lower Control Road" started at Mountain Home Village, in Mill Creek Canyon, and ended in Camp Angelus, at the Lodge. (The Lower Control Road later became known as Mountain Home Creek Road.) "Middle Control Road" started just east of the Lodge and meandered down to Seven Oaks. The final control road, 'Clark's Grade', went up and over the north side of the Santa Ana Canyon and into Bear Valley. The Clark Brothers, based at Clark's Ranch north and west of Seven Oaks, scratched out their control road by hand, and collected fees for its use.