TEXT OF SMYTHE PARK LIVE OAKS HISTORIC MARKER

Sign Script: (written by Lee Ann Bain, Daniel Island Historical Society, Board Member – Community Outreach, and historical review by Michael K. Dahlman, Daniel Island Historical Society – Co-founder and Board Member, co-author of the book, Daniel Island)

“If these trees could talk….

They would tell you the history of the majestic Southern Live Oak.  To the Native Americans, the Live Oak was an integral part of their daily life.  Its acorns could be used for cooking oil, its draping Spanish moss and other parts for medicinal purposes, its leaves for making rugs, its bark for dyes and the bent saplings to mark their trails.  But more importantly, the trees held a spiritual significance.  Under the limbs of a Grand Oak, one felt a sense of awe and reverence.  The mighty tree gave a “sense of place” to those on earth.  Its strength and stability are reminders of what wholesome and true. 

“I see a time of Seven Generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life and the whole earth will become one circle again.”  – Lakota Blessing

As time passed, the trees no longer marked trails but would designate property boundaries and would be tellable signs of old roadways.  The current corner of Daniel Island Drive and Smythe Street was called “Seven Oaks” by the late Philip Simmons, a Daniel Island native and a Master Blacksmith (today, there are four large oaks standing in this location).  These oaks marked an intersection of pathways and roadways which would lead to the Jackson and the Glenn plantations. “

MORE ON THE SMYTHE PARK LIVE OAKS

Meandering along the biking and walking trails around Smythe Park on Daniel Island, you will find a historical marker documenting the park’s beautiful Live Oak trees. Read the marker sign script to learn more about the history of the Live Oak and its significance to Native Americans and others who once called Daniel Island home.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HISTORIC LIVES OAKS ON THE ISLAND AND THE DIHS PROGRAM TO ENCOURAGE SPONSORSHIP AND NAMING OF THE TREES CLICK HERE