Before the houses, before the farms, before the bridges, there was the Angel Oak. The great Southern live oak on the island's northern side is estimated at 400 to 500 years old, one of the oldest living things in the Lowcountry. The tree stands roughly 65 feet tall with a circumference around 28 feet, and its branches sweep out to shade an area of about 17,000 square feet.
How it got its name.
The land under the tree was first recorded on a 1717 land grant to Jacob Waight. The property passed through the Waight family to Martha Waight, who married Justus Angel in 1810, giving the tree its name. The Angel family grew the surrounding plantation to more than 2,700 acres, raising cotton there until 1904. The tree itself survived a direct hit from Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and grew back stronger.
A tree for everyone.
The Angel Oak has a civic history as remarkable as its natural one. During segregation it was one of the few places open to all races, and civil rights leader Septima Poinsette Clark picnicked here with her students. The City of Charleston bought the property in 1991 and opened Angel Oak Park, where visitors have walked beneath the canopy ever since. Archaeology at the site shows the ground was used as a gathering place thousands of years before the oak even sprouted.
Plan a visit at Angel Oak Park when you are on the island. It is free, it is awe-inspiring, and it is the best one-stop lesson in what makes Johns Island different.