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.
Tree That Owns Itself (Alabama)
The Tree That Owns Itself is an oak tree in Eufaula, Alabama. A tree in the same location was given its freedom by E. H. Graves, the mayor of Eufaula, in 1935. Confederate soldier Captain John A. Walker previously owned the land that the tree is located on, so the original tree was known as the Walker Oak. The deed also named the tree as the Post Oak Tree. The original Walker Oak was destroyed in 1961 after it was hit by a tornado, and a new tree planted by the International Paper Company to replace it. An iron sign was affixed to the railings surrounding the new tree; at some point after 1961, the word "Post" was removed from the sign and it was then known only as Oak Tree. The new tree was subsequently replaced again, but each replacement tree has been given the deed to the land.