The Big Tree at Goose Island is a live oak over 1,000 years old by the Texas Forest Service, and nearer 2,000 by other recent estimates. Its trunk is more than 35 feet round and its crown spreads about 90 feet. It was the Texas state champion live oak from 1969 to 2003, and Texas Parks and Wildlife counts it among the largest live oaks in the country. Hurricane Harvey passed over in 2017 and left it relatively unscathed.
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Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) · 1,000 years · Lamar, Goose Island State Park
The Texas Forest Service put this live oak at over 1,000 years old. Other recent estimates say nearer 2,000. The sources do not settle it, and we will not pretend to.
It was the Texas state champion live oak from 1969 to 2003, and Texas Parks and Wildlife still calls it one of the largest live oaks in the United States. The trunk is over 35 feet round, the tree over 45 feet tall, and the crown spreads about 90 feet. It was a charter member of the Live Oak Society, number 16, and locals also know it as the Bishop Oak or the Lamar Oak.
Hurricane Harvey struck this coast on 25 August 2017. The Big Tree came through relatively unscathed, which says as much about it as any measurement.
The tree stands by the road inside Goose Island State Park, with parking beside it. A fence keeps people off the roots at the base, but you can stand under the crown. The park opens daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with entry at $5 for adults and free for children under 13, and you will need a car: it lies north of Rockport on Park Road 13.
Photo: Larry D. Moore (CC BY 4.0)