White Oak Planted to Commemorate America's 250th Anniversary

EASTFORD — As part of the America 250 celebrations in Eastford, a white oak sapling was planted at the Nathanial Lyon Memorial State Park, birthplace of General Lyon, located in the Natchaug State Forest on Kingsbury Road in Eastford, on Monday, April 27, by Boy Scout Troop 92 and other Eastford youth.

Noreene Stehlik, a member of the Quiet Corner Garden Club and a Woodstock resident, gave brief remarks on the historical, ecological, and symbolic significance of white oaks in Connecticut and the United States.

The white oak is the Connecticut state tree, in honor of the Charter Oak, a majestic white oak that grew in the state capital of Hartford, where American colonists hid Connecticut’s Royal Charter in 1687 to prevent its confiscation by British authorities. A violent storm felled the Charter Oak in 1856, when it was estimated to be 500 to 600 years old.

Native Americans had multiple uses for the white oak. In addition to using acorns for food, Native Americans used tea made from the bark to bathe in for relief from chills and fevers; to apply to chapped skin; and to drink to relieve asthma. Oak wood was used for lumber and firewood, and oak splits for baskets and woven chair seats. Fresh oak leaves were used to wrap dough for breadmaking. Because oak saplings are extremely pliable, Native Americans bent them to mark trails. White oak was also prized for bow-making.

The white oak is a keystone native species that hosts more insect larvae than any other tree in North America, and its acorns are a food source for birds and other wildlife. White oaks, which can grow 80 to 100 feet tall and last for centuries, support more forms of life than any other tree in North America. Native wildlife, including deer, squirrels, woodpeckers, turkey, quail, and ducks, depend on its acorns during winter, and the white oak is a prime larval food source for more than 900 caterpillar species.

The long-lived nature of these trees symbolizes the United States’ continuing strength, endurance, resilience, and growth as it celebrates 250 years as a nation and looks forward to the next 250 years.

The tree was donated by the Quiet Corner Garden Club, which is a member of the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut. The planting was supported in part by a Plant America grant from the National Garden Clubs, Inc. As part of this project, the Quiet Corner Garden Club is also planting white oaks in several other towns in northeastern Connecticut, as well as in the Massachusetts towns of Dudley and Webster.

Courtesy photos