Although this city is best known for its Bulldogs college football team, if you find yourself at the corner of Dearing Street and South Finley Street, you will find a strange anomaly at the top of a steep hill with a cobblestone street: the Tree That Owns Itself in Athens, Georgia.
The Tree That Owns Itself in Athens, Georgia.
The white oak tree is not difficult to miss: in addition to its massive size…
…a chain barricade that is supported by eight granite posts encircles the majestic tree and its plot of a radius of eight feet for protection.
A small plaque is affixed to the concrete base of the circle with the following words on it:
THE TREE THAT OWNS ITSELF
Quercus alba
Deeded to itself by Col William H. Jackson
circa 1832
This scion of the original tree was planted by
the Junior Ladies Garden Club in 1946
National Register of Historic Places 1975
Athens Historical Landmark 1988
The installation of the enclosure sometime in 1906 that currently surrounds the tree was paid by a philanthropist named George Foster Peabody — including new soil, a commemorative tablet, and the aforementioned chain barricade. A message — which was written by William H. Jackson in 1832 — is engraved on the large old stone marker as follows:
FOR AND IN CONSIDERATION
OF THE GREAT LOVE I BEAR
THIS TREE AND THE GREAT DESIRE
I HAVE FOR IT’S PROTECTION
FOR ALL TIME, I CONVEY ENTIRE
POSSESSION OF ITSELF AND
ALL LAND WITHIN EIGHT FEET
OF THE TREE ON ALL SIDES
WILLIAM H. JACKSON
This tree may very well be the most unusual owner of property in the world. “The tree pays no taxes, is protected by the community and rests secure in its own enclosed garden-type lot. In addition, this unique tree has be featured in Ripley’s ‘Believe it or Not’ and has received regular attention from newspapers and magazines from around the world”, according to the official Internet web site of the official destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau of Athens-Clarke County in Georgia. “The land on which the tree stands was originally owned by Col. William H. Jackson, a professor at the University of Georgia. Legend has it that in the early 1800s, Professor Jackson, out of love for the great oak, deeded to the tree ownership of itself and the land within eight feet of it on all sides.”
The current tree that stands on the site is sometimes referred to as the Son of the Tree That Owns Itself, as The Junior Ladies Garden Club grew a sapling from one of the acorns of the original tree, of which life began as early as during the 1500s but became old, feeble, diseased, and damaged by an ice storm in 1907; and finally met its demise when it was blown down in a windstorm on Friday, October 9, 1942. That sapling was planted on the same spot on Wednesday, October 9, 1946 in order to preserve the wishes of William H. Jackson.
Although members of the community in Athens recognize the title of the beloved tree to the surrounding land and have taken measures to protect the tree, an official original deed has never been found. Legally, a tree cannot own property; but regardless of the law, the rights of the tree are acknowledged. Not only does the city of Athens maintains the tree as part of its municipal street cleaning; but it has respected the site by paving South Finley Street around the circumference of the site and narrowed the street to only one lane.
Yes, South Finley Street could use a repaving at the time the photographs in this article were taken.
Final Boarding Call
Consider branching out with your travel goals by packing your trunk and visit this site to your regis-tree of experiences.
The Tree That Owns Itself
277 South Finley Street at the corner of Dearing Street
Athens, Georgia 30601
No admission is charged to visit the site; and free parking is extremely limited. You can temporarily park your motor vehicle near the corner for a few minutes, though — but please remember to respect the fact that the tree is located in a neighborhood with private residences.
All photographs ©2025 by Brian Cohen.
