Black Oak Tree at Ulysses S. Grant NHS

This Black Oak tree was planted around 1829

NPS

Quick Facts

Location:

Northeastern corner of the park grounds

Significance:

Only tree on park grounds that was standing when Ulysses S. Grant lived at White Haven from 1854-1859

Amenities

1 listed

Information

Only one tree on the park grounds of Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site today has been confirmed to have stood when Ulysses S. Grant lived on this property. It is a Black Oak tree that was planted around the year 1829.

Black Oak trees are strong trees that thrive on moist soils like the kind seen throughout the St. Louis area. They often live for more than 200 years and develop a dark, thick bark on their exterior. Black Oaks are often used industrially to manufacture furniture and flooring because they are resistant to insect infestation.

During the years before the American Civil War, roughly 600 of White Haven’s 850 acres were densely wooded forests that were not actively cultivated for farming. Julia Dent Grant recalled that some of the enslaved workers at White Haven would have roamed the woods on the way to their living quarters on the northern part of the property. Moreover, the enslaved would have used the woods as a space to catch a few moments of privacy away from the glare of White Haven’s white residents. Speaking of one enslaved man, “Old Bob,” Julia recalled that he “would ‘get religion,’ as his companions said. He would go away down in the meadow by the big walnut trees nearly half a mile off and pray and sing so we could hear him distinctly on our piazza. He would give out the hymn, two lines at a time, and then sing it all by himself . . .”

The scientific name for Black Oak trees is Quercus velutina Lam.