It takes real determination to visit Angel Oak. Talk about your being off the beaten track! It is on John’s Island, and that in itself wouldn’t be so bad, but the signs are almost nonexistent. Now, I’m sure you are wondering why in the world you would want to drive out of the city to see an oak tree. This is no regular oak tree. It is a monument to determination. Long before the white man settled the Low Country, this oak was standing. It’s nearly impossible to determine its exact age, but estimates have suggested that 1,400 years old is not out of the question.
The trunk of Angel Oak is 25 1/2 feet around and it stands 65 feet tall, but more amazing still is that its canopy is over 17,000 square feet. You will feel like a dwarf as you stand under this phenomenal tree. When you imagine all the hurricanes, lightning storms, and winter winds it has survived, you to will be awed. Not that it was unique in early America; these giant oaks are indigenous to this area. However, in the 17 and 18th centuries, their wood was highly prized by shipbuilders, and most of the others fell to the lumberjacks ax or saw.
Angel Oak was originally located on a land grant given to Abraham Waight. One of his plantations, The Point, passed through the family until it passed to Martha Waight, who married Justis Angel. The Angel family leased the property with the oak tree on it to the South Carolina Agricultural Society for $100 a year. In 1991, the city of Charleston acquired the property and opened it to the public free of charge. If you want to have a party here or be married under its boughs, you can rent the property.
There is a small but jam-packed store on the site. The road to get there is unpaved, and so is the parking lot. Don’t wait until 4:30pm to visit. When we were there it was closing at 4:30, even though it should have been open until 5pm. To get there, take route 17 to Main Road. Look for Angel Oak Road and pray that you see the signs.