The Centennial Tree of the Presidio

This eucalyptus is older than the forest around it. Angelo Beretta, the Presidio's post trader, planted it on 4 July 1876 to mark the hundredth birthday of the Declaration of Independence, a decade before the Army began the plantation that grew into the Presidio's woods. He planted three, in front of his store at the Main Post. When the Army enlarged the parade ground, two of them came out. The third stayed. The Presidio Trust, which manages the ground, says it was spared by a special act of Congress; no second source names the act, so that detail rests on the Trust's word. A century later, on 4 July 1976, Beretta's family gave the plaque at its base, which records the planting date and his name. That plaque matters more than usual, because a younger Bicentennial Tree stands nearby and is easy to take for this one. The National Park Service said in 2025 that the Centennial Tree still stands near the centre of the parade ground that cost it its two companions. Nobody has published a girth or a height, and one San Francisco tree writer rates it more for its history than its size. The pin is our estimate for the middle of the Main Parade Ground rather than a surveyed point, so walk to the centre of the lawn and look for the plaque. If you have measured the trunk, tell us.