Traders Oak
Leaving the lovely Greenwood Cemetery after seeing the Turner Oak, I crossed some train tracks and a part of the West Fork Trinity River heading toward the other famous oak in the area.
In an industrial section north of downtown Fort Worth, not far from the Tarrant County Jail, there are windowless business buildings, a creepy, abandoned(?) mobile home and a group of apartments near a little downcycled plastic playground in the tiny Trader Oaks Park.
This being only the second tree from the book that I found, it was also before I had discovered the Famous Trees of Texas website, which let me see that all of the trees in the book have been accounted for and which trees are still living. At that point I was concerned that I might get to the location and find that the tree was gone.
Along with the official marker, there are several City of Fort Worth benches, so I was comforted to know that the tree still has a historical designation, though it looks a bit like an afterthought on the side of the little park. Famous Trees of Texas said the park is 3 acres, but (keeping in mind my limited spatial grasp) I wonder if it might today be even smaller?
Seeing an opportunity to serve soldiers at the recently established military fort that the city is named for, as well as the nearby native americans that brought in furs, fruits and pecans, Henry Clay Daggett and Archibald Franklin Leonard opened one of the first trading posts in what became Tarrant County under this oak in 1849.
Famous Trees of Texas says it was a favorite off-duty spot for the soldiers. Legendary Trees, which grows and sells seedlings from famous trees(!), claims that whiskey was occasionally available, which was likely a bigger draw than pecans.
This beautiful live oak, also likely surviving without irrigation, appears quite healthy with thick, low hanging branches that stretch out from the trunk center to nearly touch the ground, much lower than the book photo shows. The main trunk splits into two large leaders holding numerous smaller branches in a wide spread. This gives the tree a distinctive look of growth, age and wisdom. There is a large branch scar leaving a bit of a gap in the limbs on what I thought of as the back side, facing away from the playground.
I did a little driving tour of downtown Ft. Worth afterward, then headed home after my first official trek. Visiting these trees was certainly interesting and I was relieved to have made some kind of a start on this project, but it felt like… maybe it because I have been hesitating and building up the idea in my head for so long, that it should've somehow been more monumental.
How long, I wondered, can I (should I?) stand around admiring the organic shapes and reading the marker?
Not all that long, it turns out.
I chuckled to myself recalling that scene from the 80s movie 'Vacation' when Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo see the Grand Canyon -- staring for less than 30 seconds, then ok, let's go!
