A 400-year-old oak tree in Santa Clarita Valley gets LA County historic landmark status
It began its life about the time of the Mayflower’s journey to America.
After 400 years, it thrives on the edge of Pico Canyon Park in unincorporated Santa Clarita Valley, saved from being knocked down for a development project in Newhall Ranch after a protest by a tree-sitter and environmental activist, John Quigley, about 20 years ago. In 2004, the county moved the tree out of harm’s way about a quarter mile to the park, where it has flourished.
It is celebrated by thousands, including two children from Stevenson Ranch who wrote a letter to the county pleading for its preservation, giving it the nickname “Old Glory.”
The tree stands proud, alone, about 80 feet high, with green leaves and a thick trunk, unmarked except for the white fence around it. The massive oak, with the scientific name Quercus lobata, captured the hearts of local residents, arborists and others for decades, standing in for the thousands of Valley Oaks decimated by development.
And on Tuesday, Sept. 24, it was designated a Los Angeles County Historic Landmark by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, an honor more than two years in the making. It’s also the largest tree in the country to survive being moved, a feat that could enhance its landmark status.
“This majestic tree is not only a symbol of resilience and community spirit but also an important remnant of the rich ecological heritage of the region,” read the motion that ratified its landmark status by Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
A few years ago, the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment (SCOPE) collected 80 petition signatures asking to tag the tree as historic. They brought the matter to Barger’s office. In July 2023, the Board of Supervisors nominated the tree for landmark status, starting the process that came to fruition on Tuesday.
“This is an amazing thing. We didn’t think it would survive the move. But now, as you look at it, it is gorgeous,” said Lynne Plambeck, president of SCOPE, on Tuesday. “If you look up from standing under it, it is like a cathedral.”
Plambeck echoed the words of documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who compared the country’s national parks — preserved natural spaces with trees, hills and waterfalls — to the manmade cathedrals of Europe.
The tree already deserves a survivor medal for twice escaping death.
First, in 2003 John Quigley and environmentalists held a climb-in to save the tree from a developer’s bulldozers. Quigley lived high in the tree’s branches for 71 days in 2002 and 2003 before the developer and the county agreed to uproot “Old Glory” and move it to the nearby park.
Second, more than just being spared, the tree survived that move, a rarity for an old tree that you might say was set in its ways. Many compare that precise engineering feat to the transporting of the Space Shuttle to the California Science Museum in Los Angeles — both were carefully accomplished using cranes and giant trucks.
The L.A. Conservancy’s list of more than 811 historic places includes plenty of kitschy bars, iconic restaurants and old buildings as well as homes designed by renowned architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Richard Neutra. There are some parks on the list but few stand-alone trees.
The Encino Oak Tree, also known as The Lang Oak, was a 1,000-year-old Quercus agrifolia more commonly known as the California live oak. It was designated by the city of L.A. as a Los Angeles Historic-Culture Monument but was felled in 1998 by an El Niño storm.
Another famous L.A. tree is the Wisdom Tree in Griffith Park, located on Burbank Peak not far from the Hollywood Sign. Like “Old Glory,” the Wisdom Tree is a testament to endurance. It withstood a conflagration in 2007 that torched nearby vegetation, leaving the lone pine standing alone like a sentinel guarding the city.
Plambeck said the historical designation of the famous Santa Clarita area tree was welcomed, but bittersweet.
She asked that in future developments oaks could be saved from destruction. “If the Planning Department would be more stringent about not allowing oaks to be removed,” Plambeck asked.
“Saving one is a magnificent symbol but it is not enough,” she said.