Historical Period: Colonial Texas (1821-1835)
Historical Topic: Frontier Settlements, Saved From the Axe
Species: Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)
County: Jefferson
Public Access: No longer applicable; tree is dead
When the O’Brien family sold their property to the city of Beaumont, the 1923 deed made the value of this tree abundantly clear. The conveyance, done in part to extend Orleans Street, came with certain conditions for the tree’s perpetual care: “There shall be located in said street improvements, a park-way or green plat, within which to preserve the magnificent Live Oak tree now standing on said premises.”
The tree and the land surrounding it was acquired around 1880 by politician and lawyer Capt. George Washington O’Brien (1833–1909). The property initially belonged to prominent Beaumont resident Capt. Cave Johnson, who purchased the live oak in 1849 as a sapling at nearby Village Creek—an area with a dense and diverse tree community. He planted the tree near his doorst
y’s early court sessions, and later it shaded a “lover’s lane” near the O’Brien home for generations of Texans. It was well-known locally that Captain O’Brien cared deeply for this tree and fought for its preservation.
In March 1975, the beloved tree was struck by lightning and never fully recovered. It was felled by city crews on November 29, 1978. In many ways this venerable tree lives on—its wood was presented to members of the O’Brien family, and one of its acorns, planted by George Washington O’Brien’s grandson Chilton O’Brien in 1943, still grows to this day at his former Beaumont home.