Garden Ridge Live Oak

Southern Live Oak, Quercus virginiana

This tree was used by a surveyor as a reference mark for a survey corner. These marks are disappearing as they are no longer used, due to GPS, and the marked trees grow to cover the mark.

The Story

This Southern Live Oak with its unusual “X” marking on its trunk is situated in the Garden Ridge Estates neighborhood in Garden Ridge, Comal County, Texas. It is approximately one mile northwest of the El Camino Real de los Tejas, a Spanish Mission Trail.

We learned about the tree from Diane Lengyel, who is interested in culturally modified trees. A friend of hers, who knew of her interest, took her to his neighbor’s house to see a Live Oak marked with an “X”. It was evident it was an old wound that had been carved into the bark of the tree years prior.

Diane and her friend were able to visit with the property owner, who shared what he had been told about the tree by the men who prune and remove trees for the county. The county tree trimmers had told him that old trees like this one with the “X” scar were scattered along the Camino Real mission trail to mark its location and that travelers would set up camp around these trees. When Diane contacted us, she was trying to confirm whether what the owner said may have been true.

Steve Houser, a trustee of TxHTC, had heard of different stories about trees marking the El Camino Real de los Tejas. Steve thought it might have been a cross, a religious symbol that was carved by the Spanish into the north side of trees marking the Spanish Mission Trail. But the distance from the Trail and the “X” marking, rather than a cross, made this an unlikely explanation. Also, the clarity of the “X” marking on the side of the trunk indicated it was carved much less than 200 years ago when the Trail was still in use.

Bill Coleman, TxHTC Trustee and land surveyor by profession, thought the tree may have been used by surveyors as a land survey marker since they would sometimes carve an “X” into a tree if it marked a boundary or corner. But this idea proved difficult to confirm since Bill could not find any references to the tree on early land patent surveys. However, in the field notes for the Brooks Williams Survey, several corrections were referenced. In particular, on page six is a description of a survey on October 15, 1981 calling for an Iron Rod set for the East corner in the first course from the beginning in Bat Cave Road from which a 30 inch Live Oak bears S 42* 16’ 21” E 11.52 vs (varas), (32 ft) and a 12 inch Love Oak bears N 76* 02’ 51” W 50.76 vs (141 ft). At the end it states, “Bearings marked X with spike in center”.

Bill and Marion Lineberry visited the tree for a site inspection in October 2023 and determined the live oak was larger than one determined by ring count to be 230 years old. The count was performed by an arborist on an immediately adjacent, smaller live oak tree that had to be taken down due to a lightning strike. Bill located the Iron Rod from the survey reference above and measured 32 feet in the referenced direction, finding himself at the base of the live oak with the “X” marking. This confirmed that the mark was slashed on the live oak trunk as a survey marker in 1981.

In addition to determining the approximate age of the tree, Marion and Bill found the surrounding area to be rich in history. The tree sits less than 1,000 feet away from a natural spring that is now covered by a dammed pond, and historic artifacts can still be found around the tree. During a recent redo of a park just a few hundred feet away, atlatl dart points (mid-sized, stemmed stone projectiles used for hunting, a spear-throwing device that extends about the length of your arm) were found dating back to Archaic periods (between 3,200 and 11,450 years ago). Evidence of grain grinding and snail harvesting were also found in nearby creek beds.

Whether the route of the El Camino Real de los Tejas was marked by trees carved with identifying symbols is not known for certain. However, the abundance of archaeological artifacts that surround the Garden Ridge Live Oak, as well as its proximity to the natural spring and old Spanish mission trail, lead us to believe the following:

The Garden Ridge Live Oak has been a living witness to the movements of man within the area for approximately 300 years. It may have first witnessed American Indians following the buffalo, with an Indian camp becoming permanent once American Indians planted crops. About then, the Spaniards’ mission movement may have intensified the building of forts along established mission trails. Perhaps the biggest movement of people the tree may have witnessed was that of the pioneer settlers. The settlers and the U.S. government overwhelmed the Spaniards and American Indians. They eventually pushed everyone else out of their way, with their sheer numbers, advanced weaponry, and, in the case of the American Indians, their devastating diseases.

Additional Resources

• TexasHighways.com, Texas Department of Transportation, December 2021 Issue, “Stories Without End: Texas Indigenous Roots Along El Camino Real de los Tejas”, by Michael Barnes
• TexasHighways.com, Texas Department of Transportation, Jimmy W. Arterberry, November 2017 Issue, “If These Trees Could Talk”, by Laura Samuel Mey