Burr Oak – 200 Years of History

2009 saw the completion of an important long-term project for the Woodbury Heritage Society. We installed and dedicated at the Public Works building a permanent exhibit detailing the history of one of Woodbury’s oldest trees (estimated to have first sprouted from an acorn around 1738!).  After having survived for well over 200 years, the tree proved no match for progress and was taken down when Radio Drive was widened in 2007.  Thanks to the perseverance of the Woodbury Heritage Society board and the cooperation of Washington County and the City of Woodbury, a slice of the tree was saved and preserved so that future generations could learn about its role in the early days of Woodbury, when it was used by surveyors as a marker tree as early as 1847 because it was already such a noteworthy tree.

You can visit the exhibit during business hours at the Public Works building at 2301 Tower Drive, Woodbury.  A bench with a plaque noting the site’s significance has been placed along the walking path on Radio Drive close to where the tree stood (about 1/2 mile north of Bailey Road on the east side of the street).