Friendship Oak

Friendship Oak dates from the year 1487, and was a sapling at the time that Christopher Columbus first visited the New World. According to legend, those who enter the shade of its branches will remain friends for all their lives. In the 1920s, poet Vachel Lindsay taught at Gulf Park College for Women and read poetry to students beneath the branches of Friendship Oak. Friendship Oak was the 110th tree to be registered with the Live Oak Society. At the time of registration (circa 1940), the tree's trunk circumference was 14 feet (4.3 m). In 1950, the oak was featured in a Life magazine article about Gulf Park College, where students attended classes under the tree. In 2024, the coast campus was approved for a sidewalk grant from the Mississippi Department of Transportation. The grant allows for a dedicated parking space and sidewalk to the Friendship Oak. A natural boundary is created to encourage pollinators to come to the area. ==Tree measurements==

On August 22, 2011, staff from the Mississippi Forestry Commission took the following measurements on Friendship Oak: The tree's health was subsequently assessed by a certified arborist, and the failed limb was removed in October 2017. Remediation work included some pruning plus installation of bracing to support other limbs. ==Cultural legacy==

Numerous weddings have taken place beneath the branches of the Friendship Oak. Most of the wedding ceremonies have been celebrated by former students of Gulf Park College or the University of Southern Mississippi. Through the centuries, hurricane winds have defoliated the Friendship Oak and subjected its roots to seawater pushed inland from the Gulf of Mexico as storm surges. At least twice since the mid-1950s, acorns from Friendship Oak have been gathered to produce seedlings for replanting along the Mississippi Gulf Coast to replace live oaks that were destroyed by Hurricanes Camille (1969) and Katrina (2005). ==See also==