Thought to be the largest and oldest tree in North Texas, the Plano Quadri/Quincentennial Bur Oak in Bob Woodruff Park fell during storms on Oct. 25, 2023.
The revealed trunk showed considerable decay and the four bolts drilled through the tree in earlier years were not enough to secure the splitting trunk. According to WFAA, Arborist Steve Houser, who worked to protect the tree with the city of Plano, sat on a park bench on Friday, grieving the loss of the historic tree.
"To see it gone now, it's an emotional thing for me," Houser told WFAA. "And to see your favorite tree laying on the ground, I'm kind of in mourning, you know. I don't know how to describe it."
Nov. 2, 2023 | Update: According to The Plano Star Courier the city of Plano is now in the process of devising a commemorative plan for the historic bur oak located in Bob Woodruff Park. While the substantial 7,580 tons of wood currently lie within the park, awaiting removal, the city received inquiries from numerous woodworkers, local residents and concerned individuals inquiring about the tree's future.
“We know the tree means a lot to this community," a spokesperson from Plano Parks and Recreation said. "We are working with our urban forester and local arborists to appropriately take care of what remains of this Plano icon. Unfortunately, large portions of the tree are rotted and unusable for lumber and will be recycled. In fact, much of the tree’s trunk was hollow by the time it fell. Notwithstanding the large amount of rot, we still hope to repurpose some of the healthy wood into commemorative wood pieces.”
Currently, the tree has been cordoned off with two sets of fences to ensure the safety of pedestrians by preventing potential harm from falling branches and decaying wood.
The original story continues below:
According to the Texas Historic Tree Coalition, the bur oak was at least 400 years old and likely even older. It stood 90 feet tall and had a 16.25-foot circumference. For comparison, the Texas State Champion Bur Oak, the largest known Bur Oak in Texas, is located in Cooke County. It is 75 feet tall and 22.4 feet in circumference.
In 2006, strong winds caused a massive limb, situated forty feet above the ground, to fall. Expert arborists utilized the limb to conduct a more precise assessment of the tree's age. Dr. Howard Arnott, a biology professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, also examined samples from the fallen limb and determined that the limb itself was 226 years old.
But the tree wasn’t only known for its age and size, the coalition said it is also a significant part of Plano’s history.
Before the land transformed into a city park, it had various owners, including the Dr. Daniel Rowlett Family, Colonel Landon W. Oglesby, the William T. Land Family, William D. Prince and the Claude C. Albritton Family. Although the Land Family utilized the timber from the property for their west Plano farm, they preserved the bur oak tree.
In 2002, the citizens of Plano commemorated the tree's existence and acknowledged the historical significance of the land surrounding it during Plano's Arbor Day Celebration.
