Historic Buckhead trees that have stood for more than 200 years will be mapped in a new project that the public can join.
The Buckhead Heritage Society “Living Sentinels Historic Tree Hunt” is a year-long process attempting to find any survivors from an 1821 survey conducted when the state of Georgia acquired the area from the Native American Creek Nation. Heritage Society board member John Beach will speak about the trees and the project at a Jan. 8 event.
Beach said the 1821 survey marked around 1,000 trees in what is now Buckhead, including by location and species. One unconfirmed candidate as a survivor from that time, according to Beach, is an oak that stands in front of the Paces Ferry United Methodist Church at 3612 Paces Ferry Road. That tree “appears in the correct place, and has a recorded history of being used as an Indian route signal tree,” Beach said.
Part of the “Tree Hunt” project would involve taking core samples of such trees to verify their ages, he said. Any such historic trees would be added to the Heritage Society’s “Buckhead Historic Treasures Map,” an interactive online program that allows users to click on local sites and read details about them.
Beach’s introductory event to the “Tree Hunt” is scheduled for Jan. 8, 7 p.m., at the Cathedral of St. Philip, 2744 Peachtree Road. Admission is $10 for Heritage Society members and $15 for non-members. For more information, see buckheadheritage.com.