The "Big Oak" in Thomasville, Georgia

When you visit Thomasville,  and have completed your shopping downtown,  and have enjoyed lunch in one of the amazing restaurants,  be sure to drive a few blocks northwest from the downtown area for a visit to what the locals call "The Big Oak."

The Big Oak

Corner of Crawford and Monroe Streets

Thomasville, Georgia

The Big Oak is one of many historic landmarks located in Thomasville.

According to the visitor's brochure,  this massive Southern Live Oak tree grew from a tiny acorn beginning around 1685.  It is considered one of the oldest Live Oak trees in the United States, and one of the largest Live Oak trees East of the Mississippi River.

They say President Eisenhower was so impressed with the Big Oak that he personally photographed this amazing tree during one of his frequent visits to Thomasville.

The visitor's brochure tells us that the fern attached to the branches of the Big Oak you see in the below photos does not hurt the tree.  This fern is called the "resurrection" fern because it appears dead until a rain causes it to turn immediately to a lush green.

The tree looks huge when you first drive up and see it covering the entire southeast corner of the intersection.  But, it is only after you walk under the massive branches that you get a feel for how old and huge it really is.

The Thomasville folks do their best to take good care of this magnificent tree.  

There is an "on call" tree surgeon available at all times.

As you can see,  various support cables are intertwined about the tree to provide strength to the limbs, some of which are just a few feet above the ground and as you can see in the above photo, even touching the ground.

 Seen in the below photo is the Elizabeth Ireland Poe Park located just beyond The Big Oak.

In 1966 the Victorian-style gazebo was donated to Thomasville's Big Oak Park.

In the below photo this beautiful old home caught my eye as we were driving away from
the Big Oak.  This home is located on the northeast corner just across the street from The Big Oak.

This home was built in 1886 by William Miller and is known as the William Miller House.  Mr. Miller was known as the "Johnny Appleseed of Thomasville." In his spare time he enjoyed planting trees along the city streets back in the late 1800s.

I love the old decorative woodworking art seen on the porches and around
the windows of this beautiful old home

There are so many beautiful old trees all along the streets of Thomasville
as seen in the below photo.  I do wonder how many of these trees
were planted by William Miller.

This pretty old home in the below photo caught my eye as we drove along.  I loved the symmetry  

of the double fireplaces and enjoyed seeing the beautiful black ornamental fence.

Another tree-lined street in the Thomasville area.

Join us next time when we will see more photos taken of some of the beautiful old homes in the Thomasville area.

Thanks for coming along as we visit some of the old historical sights of the charming little Southern town of Thomasville, Georgia.

Blessings to you wherever you may be.