A number of readers have been visiting my 2015 post about my search for the oldest live oaks in Louisiana; those that are near 30 feet in girth or larger. Since 2015, I’ve added a few more old oaks to this list and am still tracking down leads on others. Thankfully, I keep learning of new (new to me at least) old oaks that are potentially in this size and age range.

These oaks are of a generation of trees that were likely already growing when the first Europeans settled along the rivers and bayous of south Louisiana. Tragically, we are losing these elder oaks, one by one each year, through storms, land development, and pollution.  My goal is to create a record of them being here and possibly capture some of the human stories connected with them.

My list of historic old oaks is certainly not all-inclusive. There are a couple of other people out there in the world documenting old trees in Louisiana. They may have documented other old oaks that I haven’t found yet and photographed.  I get comments regularly from people who claim to know of some old tree nearby that’s really old and big! These are on my shortlist of “yet-to-find” oaks that I’m slowly visiting and photographing. Here’s what I’ve documented currently:

1. Seven Sisters Oak – 39′-10″;  Lewisburg / Mandeville (President of Live Oak Society and National Champion Tree for Quercus virginiana species with American Forests Big Tree Registry)
2. Randall Oak – 35′-8″;  New Roads (it’s on the Pointe Coupee live oak tour)
3. Edna Szymoniak Live Oak – 35′-6″; LSU Hammond Research Station, Hammond
4. Lorenza Dow Oak – 35′ 5″;  (May have been the Dr. E.O. Powers Oak) – Grangeville Masonic Lodge; a 2nd unnamed oak on the lodge grounds is 27′-11″
5. La Belle Colline Oak – 34′ plus; Between Sunset and Carencro on private property The
6. Martin Tree 34′ – Gonzales; (named for Miss Delba Martin) on private property The
7. Governor’s Oak – 33′-3″; Baton Rouge, on Highland Road
8. Lastrapes Oak (Seven Brothers Oak)  32′-3″ (largest section); Washington, LA
9. Blanchet Oak – 32′ 2″; Lafayette (featured in a recent US News story)
10. Jefferson College Oak – 32′ 1″; On the upriver edge of the grounds at Manresa House of Retreats, Convent
11. Boudreaux Friendship Oak – 31′-10″; Lafayette (in top 10 oaks of Acadiana)
12. Lagarde Oak – 30′-11”; Luling, LA
13. The Mays Oak – 30’-11″; at Live Oaks Plantation, north of Rosedale
14. Grosse Tete Oak – 30′ 2″; Bayou Grosse Tete, right off of I-10
15. Etienne de Bore’ Oak – 30′; Audubon Park, NOLA; also called the “Tree of Life” by New Orleans locals
16. The Rebekah Oak – 30′; on Poydras Hwy. near Breaux Bridge
17. Hudson Oak – 29′-9″; Hudson House (private home), Prairieville
18. Grenier Oak or Donald Peltier Oak – 29′-9″;  above Thibodaux on Bayou Lafourche (located on very private land).
19. Josephine Stewart Oak – 29′ 11″; Oak Alley Plantation; Vacherie
20. Stonaker Oak – 29′ 6″; New Roads, LA
21. St. John’s Cathedral Oak – 29′ 6″; Lafayette, LA (Top 10 oaks of Acadiana)
22. Boudreaux Oak – 29′ 2″; On Hwy 1, near the St. Charles Bridge (on Bayou Lafourche Live Oak Tour)
23. Mr. Mike Oak – 29′; near Franklin (on the grounds outside of Oaklawn Plantation) 

NOTE:  Thanks to this post, one reader sent directions to another 29-ft.-plus live oak north of Opelousas and Washington.  Thanks, Will Favre!  I appreciate all leads to new old oaks and will get to them all in time.

– BG