An old Post Oak near Martinsville's Oldest Post Office

The picture above shows another huge oak (a white oak) on the Piedmont Arts' property nearby the post office, which can be seen in the bottom left corner. The post oak is growing alongside that building, on the right hand side.

Thanks to Tamara Poles, with the Virginia Museum of Natural History, for documenting this tree. This was the first entry for the city of Martinsville in Jeff Kirwan's Remarkable Tree Project. Jeff Kirwan visited Martinsville October 20, 2009. Hosted by the Southwestern Piedmont Virginia Master Naturalists, he taught a class for local Virginia Master Naturalist Program. A special weeklong class for local science teachers will provide the basic requirements needed for becoming a member of the Southwest Piedmont Virginia Master Naturalist Program. This class is being organized by Rachel Wingfield. Teachers can apply for 40 hours CEU points.

Tamara provided the following tree information to the Remarkable Trees site:

Common Name: post oak
Scientific name: Quercus stellata
Category: Old tree Notes: This post oak is a well known tree in the area due to its size, age, beauty, and location. This tree is located in the center of Martinsville, Virginia on property that has been recognized by the National Register of Historical Places as a significant historical property. Adjacent to the post oak is the Little Post Office that played a critical role in the expansion of the U.S mail's star route in the late 19 century. It provided services to rural communities in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Over the years it expanded to Maryland, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Colorado serving over 500 routes. The Historic Post Office can be viewed at the bottom left of the photo below. At night, visitors can still enjoy the site of the post oak because the previous owner of the property placed spotlights around the tree to illuminate it at night for everyone to enjoy its uniqueness. Diameter: 137.5cm Height: 42.5m