The White Oak of St. James

The White Oak of St. James (HM2KWY)

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N 38° 0.401', W 91° 37.164'

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Inscription
[Captions on arrows out from the center of the wood:]
1860 City of St. James Established. Our Tree Sprouts.
1865 Civil War Ends!
1875 Maramec River forges [unreadable]
1880 [unreadable] is Born in St. James.
[Unreadable] Italians Arrive and the Grape Industry is Born.
1895 [Unreadable] Established.
1924 [Unreadable] First Woman Mayor in Missouri
[Unreadable] The First Grape and Fall Festival
1938 Lucy Wortham James [Unreadable]
1941 The [Unreadable] is Established.
[Remainder is unreadable]


Majestically alone he stands
Reaching to heav'n his gnarled hands
His massive trunk and spreading girth
Shading an acre of God's earth.

Oh mighty tree, could you but speak
Of year by year and week by week
The sights that you have doubtless seen
While standing on this hilltop green.

You saw the wand'ring Redmen pass
With scarce a ripple of the grass
Stalking the turkey and the deer
That fed upon your acorns here.

As skyward yet you stretched your crown
Shawnee and Osage bedded 'round
In quest of ocher plant to wear
Upon their face and in their hair.

When James and Massey here were led
They



saw the wondrous hill of red
And marveled at the crystal flow
Of water from the depths below.

Great tree, you saw the frenzy then
The enterprise of many men
Horses and mules and oxen too—
Civilization came to you.

The stillness of the nearby glen
Was shattered by the ironworks then
Clanging anvils and spewing ore
Wagons passing to fill the store.

Axemen ravaged the forest land
Hardwood charcoal was in demand
Why were you spared, Oh mighty oak
When siblings fell to cutter's stroke?

You felt the tremor of the ground
When rails were laid into the town
And iron horse with belching stack
Came daily chuffing down the track.

Did you hear guns of blue and gray
As Yanks and Johnnies passed your way?
Were those who fell, by comrades laid
In shallow graves beneath your shade?

Your grounds became the resting place
Of pioneers who'd run the race
Finished the course and gone to stand
At the judgment gate to the promised land.

Te years have passed and once again
There is a stillness in the glen
Thru wind and storm and strife you've stood
To guard the place of brotherhood.

Oh lovely tree, so strong and tall
We're glad that you survived it all
And daily showed us by your stand
That



your Creator's in command.

W.D. Parkinson
January 1983


[Caption:]

This beautiful white oak, Quercus alba, sprouted in 1860 in what was then known as the Masonic cemetery. The tree has inspired the citizens of Saint James for 150 years, and will live on in our memories.

Special Thanks to the James Foundation, Walmart Distribution, City of St. James, Ben Smith, Robert Tessaro, and Wilson Lumber.
Details
HM NumberHM2KWY
Tags
Year Placed1986
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, September 18th, 2019 at 2:01pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)15S E 621204 N 4207455
Decimal Degrees38.00668333, -91.61940000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 0.401', W 91° 37.164'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 0' 24.06" N, 91° 37' 9.8400000000001" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling East
Closest Postal AddressAt or near , ,
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